Kristin Watmore

Stories

Fanged camel named from a century-old museum collection

Not involved in the study; commented on the find

For decades, cabinets at the American Museum of Natural History held camel skulls labeled with a name nobody had ever formally published: "Machairocamelus," the knife camel. A monograph uploaded in November 2026 gave the animal a real name, Vampyrocamelus welshi, and a place in an extinct lineage of long-necked, lanky camels.

Updated 2 hours ago

Notable Quotes

"It is certainly a unique camelid."

from Fanged camel named from a century-old museum collection · Updated 2 hours ago

Microscopic wear patterns on the teeth "could potentially tell us something about how these fangs were being used."

from Fanged camel named from a century-old museum collection · Updated 2 hours ago