How did ancient camels differ from those of today?

Scientists have found fragments of a camel's leg bone from over 3.5 million years ago in the Canadian Arctic. These early camels were nearly twice the size they are now – over 3m tall – and evolved their fat-filled hump to help them survive the cold. ... As the Ice Age came, the camels moved south.

Before the latest find, experts only knew of extinct camels as far north as Canada’s Yukon. But while excavating on Ellesmere Island, 750 miles north of the Yukon camel’s discovery, researchers unearthed 30 bone fragments between 0.5 and 3 inches long. “It took three field seasons to recover all of the bones that we currently have,” said Natalia Rybczynski of the Canadian Museum of Nature, who led the expedition. “In the field, these fossil fragments really look just like shards. They could even be just fossil wood.”