''Megaloceros'' (from
Greek: + , literally "Great Horn"; see also Lister (1987)) 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 ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
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 ...
whose members lived throughout
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
from the early
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
to the beginning of the
Holocene
The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...
and were important
herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...
s 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
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 ...
family which includes
moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...
,
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
,
reindeer
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
, and other cervids.
Biology
Most members of the genus were extremely large animals that favoured meadows or open woodlands. They are the most
cursorial
A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often u ...
deer known, with most species averaging slightly below at the
withers
The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...
. The various species of the
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
genus ''
Candiacervus
''Candiacervus'' is an extinct genus of deer native to Pleistocene Crete. Due to a lack of other herbivores, the genus underwent an adaptive radiation, filling niches occupied by other taxa on the mainland. Due to the small size of Crete, the gen ...
'' – the smallest of which, ''C. rhopalophorus'' was just high at the shoulder – are sometimes included in ''Megaloceros'' as a
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
.
![Irish Elk](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Irish_Elk.jpg)
Despite its name, the Irish elk was neither restricted to
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
nor closely related to either species commonly referred to as
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
(''
Alces alces'' in British English and other European languages; ''
Cervus canadensis
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The comm ...
'' in North American English) but instead is closely related to the
fallow deer genus ''
Dama''. The genus was part of a Late
Neogene
The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
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
''Praemegaceros'' is an extinct genus of deer, known from the Pleistocene and Holocene of Western Eurasia. It contains the subgenera ''Praemegaceros,'' ''Orthogonoceros'' and ''Nesoleipoceros''. It has sometimes been synonymised with ''Megalocer ...
'', ''
Sinomegaceros
''Sinomegaceros'' is an extinct genus of deer known from the Early to Late Pleistocene of Central and East Asia. It is considered to be part of the group of "giant deer" (often referred to collectively as members of the tribe Megacerini), with a ...
'' and ''
Megaceroides
''Megaceroides algericus'' is an extinct species of deer known from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene of North Africa. It is one of only two species of deer known to have been native to the African continent, alongside the Barbary stag, a subs ...
'' 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
''Rucervus'' is a genus of deer from India, Nepal, Indochina, and the Chinese island of Hainan. The only extant representatives, the barasingha (''R. duvaucelii)'' and Eld's deer (''R. eldii''), are threatened by habitat loss and hunting, and ano ...
'' instead.
;''M. luochuanensis''
:Early to Mid-Pleistocene species in the
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
Loess
Loess (, ; from german: Löss ) is a clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loess or similar deposits.
Loess is a periglacial or aeolian ...
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
A chronospecies is a species derived from a sequential development pattern that involves continual and uniform changes from an extinct ancestral form on an evolutionary scale. The sequence of alterations eventually produces a population that is p ...
of the latter. The antlers were more compact, and the
tines near the base large and
palmate
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
. Lived in Mid-Pleistocene
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
;''M. savini''
:Mid-Pleistocene species, slightly larger than a
caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...
, first fossils found near
Sainte Savine,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and near
Soria,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. 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
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
, from
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
during the
last ice age.
;''
Megaceroides algericus
''Megaceroides algericus'' is an extinct species of deer known from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene of North Africa. It is one of only two species of deer known to have been native to the African continent, alongside the Barbary stag, a subs ...
''
: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