Camels store water in their humps
The old claim turned out to be wrong and was rejected by evidence.
TaughtA camel's hump is a water tank. That is how it crosses the desert without drinking.
NowHumps store fat, not water. The fat is an energy reserve; the camel's desert endurance comes from a suite of other adaptations, including red blood cells that survive extreme dehydration.
What actually happened
The hump is essentially a fatty backpack. Storing fat in one place rather than distributed under the skin lets the camel insulate itself without trapping heat over its whole body, which matters enormously at 45 degrees Celsius. A well-fed camel's hump stands upright; a starving one's flops over.
The real water story is more impressive than the myth. Camels can lose up to about 25% of their body weight in water, a level that would be fatal to most mammals, because their oval red blood cells stay flexible when the blood thickens. They produce highly concentrated urine and very dry feces, tolerate a body temperature that swings several degrees to avoid sweating, and can drink over 100 liters in a matter of minutes without their cells bursting. None of that requires a tank, and the tank was never there.
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Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Camelbritannica.com
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: Camelanimals.sandiegozoo.org
Who was taught this
Still standard through 2005, so anyone who finished school between 1950 and 1990 learned the earlier version.