Apr 04, 2015 10:50 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Scientists have unearthed the skeleton of a 17th-century camel that was apparently ridden by soldiers in the Ottoman Army.

According to BBC News, authors of a study published in the journal PLOS One analyzed a completely intact Bactrian-dromedary hybrid camel skeleton. The skeleton showed signs consistent of an animal that had been saddled and ridden.

"Camels are alien species in Europe and Austria, [and] the town of Tulln is closely situated to the large river/stream of the Danube," study lead author Alfred Galik, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, told Live Science.

The researchers found the skeleton in a cellar in Austria from the 17th century. They believe the camel ended up there after the siege of Vienna in 1683.

"First I saw the mandible, which looked a bit like a strange-shaped cattle; then I saw the cervical vertebrae, which looked like horse," Galik told BBC News. "Finally, the long bones and metapodials [foot bones] identified the skeleton as a camel.

"Such cross-breeding was not unusual at the time," he said. "Hybrids were easier to handle, more enduring, and larger than their parents. These animals were especially suited for military use."

The scientists knew the camel was important to its owners because it was evidently ridden but not equipped with cargo. The camel was taken care of.

"The partly excavated skeleton was at first suspected to be a large horse or cattle," Galik said in a press release. "But one look at the cervical vertebrae, the lower jaw and the metacarpal bones immediately revealed that this was a camel.

"The animal was certainly exotic for the people of Tulln. They probably didn't know what to feed it or whether one could eat it. Perhaps it died a natural death and was then buried without being used."

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