Dromedary
Camelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedmammals
The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), also called the Arabian camel or one-humped camel, is a mammal in the family Camelidae and the order Artiodactyla. It falls in the giant size class, with a representative adult body mass of 601 kg; the lowest value reported by our sources is 360 kg.
Quick facts about the dromedary
The dromedary is a diurnal, terrestrial herbivore, and checklists record it in Australia. It has 1 young per litter after a gestation period of 395.8 days, reaches sexual maturity at 4.7 years and has a lifespan of 34.2 years, with values up to 40 years.
- Weight
- 360 kg – 601 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 1.7 m – 2.4 msrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 34.2 years – 40 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desertsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 365 days – 396 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.43 years – 6 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.7src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
How big is the dromedary?
Photos of the dromedary
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the dromedary live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The dromedary is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the dromedary?
The dromedary (Camelus dromedarius), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel and one-humped camel, is a large camel of the genus Camelus with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three camel species; adult males stand 1.8–2.4 m (5.9–7.9 ft) at the shoulder, while females are 1.7–1.9 m (5.6–6.2 ft) tall. Males typically weigh between 400 and 690 kg (880 and 1,520 lb), and females weigh between 300 and 540 kg (660 and 1,190 lb).
The dromedary's distinctive features include its long, curved neck, narrow chest, a single hump, and long hairs on the throat, shoulders, and hump. The coat is generally a shade of brown. The hump is 20 cm (7.9 in) tall or more, and is made of fat bound together by fibrous tissue.
The dromedary feeds on foliage and desert vegetation; several adaptations, such as the ability to tolerate losing more than 30% of its total water content, allow it to thrive in its desert habitat. Mating occurs annually and peaks in the rainy season; females bear a single calf after a gestation of 15 months. It is mainly active during daylight hours and forms herds of about 20 individuals, which are led by a dominant male.
The dromedary has not occurred naturally in the wild for nearly 2,000 years. It was probably first domesticated in the Arabian Peninsula about 4,000 years ago. In the wild, the dromedary inhabited arid regions, including the Sahara. The domesticated dromedary is kept in the semiarid to arid regions of the Old World, mainly in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Thar Desert in Pakistan and India. A feral population occurs in Australia. Products of the dromedary, including its meat and milk, support several North African tribes; it is also commonly used for riding and as a pack animal.
From the Wikipedia article “Dromedary” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dromedary&oldid=1383820303), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the dromedary sound like?
Is the dromedary endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the dromedary classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyCamelidae
- genusCamelus
- SpeciesCamelus dromedarius Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Camelus ferus
Other names and names in other languages (73)
- Arabian camelEnglish
- Dromedary camelEnglish
- One-humped camelEnglish
- One-humped camelEnglish
- DromedarisAfrikaans
- Arabiese KameelAfrikaans
- هجينArabic
- ابل عربيةArabic
- بعير عربيArabic
- جمل عربيArabic
- جمل وحيد السنامArabic
- جمل عربي، جمل وحيد السنامArabic
- dromedariuAsturian
- Birhürgüclü dəvəAzerbaijani
- Вярблюд аднагорбыBelarusian
- Едногърба камилаBulgarian
- DremedalBreton
- DromedariCatalan
- DromedárCzech
- DromedářCzech
- Velbloud jednohrbýCzech
- EinhöckrigesGerman
- Arabisches KamelGerman
- DromedarGerman
- Einhöckriges KamelGerman
- ΔρομάδαGreek
- Αραβική καμήλαGreek
- Κάμηλος η δρομάςGreek
- Καμήλα η δρομάδαGreek
- DromedaroEsperanto
- DromedarioSpanish
- ÜksküürkaamelEstonian
- شتر یککوهانهPersian
- dromedaariFinnish
- DromadaireFrench
- Chameau d'ArabieFrench
- DromadairScottish Gaelic
- Camelo arábigoGalician
- גמל חד-דבשתיHebrew
- ऊँटHindi
- Jednogrba devaCroatian
- egypúpú teveHungarian
- Միասապատավոր ուղտArmenian
- Unta arabIndonesian
- DrómedariIcelandic
- Cammello araboItalian
- Cammello indianoItalian
- ヒトコブラクダJapanese
- Бір өркешті түйеKazakh
- 단봉낙타Korean
- 아라비아낙타Korean
- Vienkupris kupranugarisLithuanian
- Икпӱгыран тӱеMari
- Арапска камилаMacedonian
- Едногрба камилаMacedonian
- DromadariOccitan
- Camelus dromedariusOccitan
- DromaderPolish
- Wielbłąd jednogarbnyPolish
- DromedárioPortuguese
- ДромадерRussian
- ДромедарRussian
- Одногорбый верблюдRussian
- DrumidariuSicilian
- Ťava jednohrbáSlovak
- enogrba kamelaSlovenian
- Једногрба камилаSerbian
- อูฐหนอกเดียวThai
- Tek Hörgüçlü DeveTurkish
- Верблюд одногорбийUkrainian
- Одногорбий верблюдUkrainian
- Lạc đà một bướuVietnamese
- 單峰駱駝Chinese
Relatives of the dromedary
Other species in the same genus Camelus.
CompareDromedary vs Bactrian camelDromedary vs Wild camelDromedary vs Camelus grattardi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the dromedary?
The dromedary is a mammal in the family Camelidae, order Artiodactyla. It is also called the Arabian camel, Dromedary camel or one-humped camel.
How heavy is a dromedary?
The dromedary has a representative adult body mass of 601 kg, placing it in the giant size class. The lowest value reported by our sources is 360 kg.
What does the dromedary eat?
The dromedary is a herbivore.
How long does a dromedary live?
The dromedary has a lifespan of 34.2 years, with values reported up to 40 years.
How many young does a dromedary have?
The dromedary has 1 young per litter, with 0.7 litters per year, after a gestation period of 395.8 days.
When does a dromedary reach sexual maturity?
The dromedary reaches sexual maturity at 4.7 years, with reported values from 3.4 to 6.0 years.
Which countries is the dromedary recorded in?
Checklists record the dromedary in Australia.
Who named the dromedary?
The dromedary, Camelus dromedarius, was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dromedary
“Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dromedary.
@misc{dromedary_2026,
title = {Dromedary (Camelus dromedarius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dromedary},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}