DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 7 (Reuters)  Swiss researchers have discovered the 100,000-year-old remains of a previously unknown giant camel species in central Syria.

“This is a big discovery, a revolution in science,” said Jean-Marie Le Tensorer, a prehistory professor at the University of Basel. “It was not known that the dromedary was present in the Middle East more than 10,000 years ago.”

He said it was about 12 feet tall, “as big as a giraffe or an elephant.” Professor Tensorer, who has been excavating at the desert site in Kowm since 1999, said the first large bones were found some years ago but were only confirmed as belonging to a camel after more bones from several parts of the same animal were recently discovered.

“We found the first traces of a big animal in 2003, but we were not sure it was a giant camel,” he said.