''Libralces'' was a genus of Eurasian deer that lived during the
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58[Megaloceros
''Megaloceros'' (from Greek: + , literally "Great Horn"; see also Lister (1987)) is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the early Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene and were important herbivores durin ...](_blank)
''.
''Libralces'' fossils have been found from France to Tajikistan,
with the best-known examples being the French ''L. gallicus''.
According to
Jordi Agustí, ''Libralces'' was the ancestor of ''Megaloceros'', though most other authorities regard it as a relative of moose, ''
Alces''.
In the Pleistocene, there were three genera of
Holarctic
The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical region ...
moose-like deer — ''
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 ...
'', ''Alces'', and ''Libralces''. In contrast to modern ''Alces'', the
Villafranchian
Villafranchian age ( ) is a period of geologic time (3.5–1.0 Ma) spanning the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. Named by Italian geologist Lorenzo Pareto for a sequence of terrestrial s ...
''Libralces gallicus'' had very long-beamed, small-palmed antlers and a generalized skull with moderately reduced nasals; the
Nearctic
The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface.
The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...
''Cervalces'' had longer nasals and more complex antlers than ''Libralces''.
Azzaroli 1953 added ''Alces latiforns'' to ''Libralces'', but this position has been challenged. ''L. latifrons'' is now considered a synonym of ''
Cervalces latifrons
''Cervalces latifrons'', the broad-fronted moose, or the giant moose was a giant species of deer that inhabited the holarctic regions of Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch. It is believed to be the largest species of deer that ever exi ...
''.
Gallery
References
Capreolinae
Prehistoric deer
Pliocene even-toed ungulates
Pliocene mammals of Asia
Pliocene mammals of Europe
Pliocene extinctions
Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera
Fossil taxa described in 1952
{{Paleo-eventoedungulate-stub