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 during the Ice Ages. The largest species, '' Megaloceros giganteus'', vernacularly known as the "Irish elk" or "giant elk", is also the best known. Fallow deer are thought to be their closest living relatives. ''Megaloceros'' is part of the deer family which includes moose, elk, reindeer, and other cervids.

Biology

Most members of the genus were extremely large animals that favoured meadows or open woodlands. They are the most cursorial deer known, with most species averaging slightly below at the withers. The various species of the Cretan genus '' Candiacervus'' – the smallest of which, ''C. rhopalophorus'' was just high at the shoulder – are sometimes included in ''Megaloceros'' as a subgenus.

Despite its name, the Irish elk was neither restricted to Ireland nor closely related to either species commonly referred to as elk (''Alces alces'' in British English and other European languages; '' Cervus canadensis'' in North American English) but instead is closely related to the fallow deer genus ''Dama''. The genus was part of a Late Neogene Eurasian radiation of fallow deer relatives of which today only two taxa remain.(Lister ''et al.'' 2005, Hughes ''et al.'' 2006).

Although sometimes synonymized with ''Megaloceros'', '' Praemegaceros'', '' Sinomegaceros'' and '' Megaceroides'' are apparently generically distinct. ''M. savini'' and related taxa (''novocarthaginiensis'' and ''matritensis)'' are split into the separate genus ''Praedama'' by some scholars.

Species

Ordered from oldest to youngest:

;''M. stavropolensis''
:Early Pleistocene species from Southwestern Russia. Has subsequently been suggested to belong to ''Arvernoceros'' instead.
;''M. luochuanensis''
:Early to Mid-Pleistocene species in the Shaanxi Loess of China.
;''M. novocarthaginiensis''
: Described from the latest Early Pleistocene 0.9-0.8 Ma of Cueva Victoria in Spain. Known from antlers, teeth and postcranial material.
;''M. antecedens''
:Very similar to ''M. giganteus'', to the point where it is often regarded as a paleosubspecies of the latter. The antlers were more compact, and the tines near the base large and palmate. Lived in Mid-Pleistocene Germany
;''M. savini''
:Mid-Pleistocene species, slightly larger than a caribou, first fossils found near Sainte Savine, France and near Soria, Spain. Its antlers were straight, with thorn-like prongs. The lowermost prongs near the base were palmate. Has been suggested to comprise the separate genus ''Praedama''.
;''M. matritensis''
:Mid-Pleistocene species, lived around 300-400 ka near present-day Madrid, Spain, being contemporary with ''M. giganteus''. The species had enlarged premolars, very thick molar enamel, and a low mandibular condyle. The species itself formed part of the diet of people which lived in the area. ''M. matritensis'' fossils are found associated to stone tools of late Acheulean and early Mousterian type. The species is thought to be descended from ''M. savini''
;'' M. giganteus''
:Largest, best known, and among the last species of the genus that stands about at the shoulders. Lived throughout Eurasia, from Ireland to China during the last ice age.
;''Megaceroides algericus''
:From the Late Pleistocene to Holocene of North Africa has been considered to be closely related and possibly derived from ''Megaloceros.''

References

Further reading

* (2006):
* (1987): ''Megaceros'' or ''Megaloceros''? The nomenclature of the giant deer. ''Quaternary Newsletter'' 52: 14–16.
* (2005):

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3544136
Cervinae
Prehistoric deer
Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera
Pleistocene even-toed ungulates
Pleistocene genus extinctions
Pleistocene first appearances
Pleistocene mammals of Asia
Pleistocene mammals of Europe
Fossil taxa described in 1828