''Cervalces carnutorum'', sometimes known as ''Alces carnutorum'', is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of large

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

that lived in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

during the

Early Pleistocene The Early Pleistocene is an unofficial sub-epoch in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, being the earliest division of the Pleistocene Epoch within the ongoing Quaternary Period. It is currently estimated to span the time ...

. Fragments were found in the site of

Saint-Prest Saint-Prest () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Population Notable people * Madeleine Castaing (1894–1992), antiques dealer and interior designer, spent her childhood at Villa des Roses, 30 rue de la Républiqu ...

, near

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, and described by Laugel in 1862. The exact position of species within the genera '' Alces'', ''

Cervalces ''Cervalces'' is an extinct deer genus that lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs. ''Cervalces gallicus'' is either classified as a species of the related ''Libralces'', or an ancestral species to other members of ''Cervalces''. It liv ...

'' and ''

Libralces ''Libralces'' was a genus of Eurasian deer that lived during the Pliocene epoch. Its main claim to fame are its 2+ meter wide antlers, comparable in size to those of '' Megaloceros''. ''Libralces'' fossils have been found from France to Tajikist ...

'' is of debate. Many large, prehistoric moose-like cervids were originally placed in ''Alces'', but have since been moved to ''Cervalces'' or ''Libralces'' by many (but not all) authorities. Both ''Cervalces'' and ''Libralces'' have also been used interchangeably with regards to certain species.

References

External links

zipcodezoo
Cervalces Prehistoric deer Pleistocene even-toed ungulates Prehistoric mammals of Europe Fossil taxa described in 1862 {{Paleo-eventoedungulate-stub