<Tr> <Td> Phylogenetic relationships of the dromedary from combined analysis of all molecular data . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Bactrian camel shares the genus Camelus with the dromedary (C. dromedarius) and the wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus). The Bactrian camel belongs to the family Camelidae . The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle was the first to describe the species of Camelus: in his 4th century BC History of Animals he identified the one - humped Arabian camel and the two - humped Bactrian camel . The Bactrian camel was given its current binomial name Camelus bactrianus by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 publication Systema Naturae . </P> <P> In 2007, Peng Cui (of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) and colleagues carried out a phylogenetic study of the evolutionary relationships between the two tribes of Camelidae: Camelini--consisting of the three Camelus species (the study considered the wild Bactrian camel as a subspecies of the Bactrian camel)--and Lamini--consisting of the alpaca (Vicugna pacos), the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), the llama (L. glama) and the vicuña (V. vicugna). The study revealed that the two tribes had diverged 25 million years ago (early Miocene), notably earlier than what had been previously estimated from North American fossils . Speciation began first in Lamini as the alpaca came into existence 10 million years ago (late Pleistocene). Nearly two million years later, the Bactrian camel and the dromedary emerged as two independent species . </P> <P> The Bactrian camel and the dromedary often interbreed to produce fertile offspring . Where the ranges of the two species overlap, such as in northern Punjab, Iran and Afghanistan, the phenotypic differences between them tend to decrease as a result of extensive crossbreeding between them . The fertility of their hybrid has given rise to speculation that the Bactrian camel and the dromedary should be merged into a single species with two varieties . However, a 1994 analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene revealed that the species display 10.3% divergence in their sequences . </P>

Where did the bactrian camels come from and why did the chinese want them