Fossil camel from Syria awaits official scientific naming years after its discovery

Excavations unearthed in the Kom oasis in central Syria have revived the possibility that a now-extinct species of camel exists, whose proposed scientific name has not yet received full taxonomic validation.

As reported by Al Jazeera.net, the story traces back to fossil remains from the Nidawiya Ein Asker site, studied by researcher Pietro Martinelli as part of his work at the University of Basel. Following earlier studies on the camels of the region, Martinelli dedicated a portion of his doctoral dissertation to describing the specimens, proposing the name “Camelus roris” based on differences in the skull, teeth, and jaw compared to other fossil camel species.

The researcher’s thesis confirms the existence of a nearly complete skull and multiple remains attributed to the proposed species.

However, the name has not, to the best of available verification, appeared in any subsequent taxonomic publication that clearly meets the requirements for availability under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.

The data indicate that these camels lived during the Middle Pleistocene, hundreds of thousands of years ago. Completing the study of the specimens and publishing them in accordance with established rules could help determine whether they indeed represent a distinct species of ancient camel.