''Morenelaphus'' is an extinct genus 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 ...

that lived in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

during the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...

. Fossils of the genus have been recovered from the Agua Blanca, Fortín Tres Pozos and

Luján Formation Luján, Luxan or Luhan, a Spanish people, Spanish surname and given name, might refer to: Tony Lujan Jazz musician.Composer Artist Trumpet And Flughelhorn Born 1956 Albuquerque NM. World Renowned. Extensive Resume. N M Music Hall Of Fame 2020 Ove ...

s of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, the Ñuapua Formation of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Santa Vitória do Palmar Santa Vitória do Palmar (lit. "Saint Victoria of the Palms") is a Brazilian city and municipality. It is the southernmost municipality in Brazil, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. To the west of the municipality is the Lagoa Mirim and ...

in southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and the

Sopas Formation ''Sopas'' is a Filipino macaroni soup made with elbow macaroni, various vegetables, and meat (usually chicken), in a creamy broth with evaporated milk. It is regarded as a comfort food in the Philippines and is typically eaten during breakfast ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

.''Morenelaphus''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org

Tooth enamel Tooth enamel is one of the four major Tissue (biology), tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The ...

microwear analysis suggests ''Morenelaphus'' had a mixed-feeder diet, including grass and perhaps with the occasional ingestion of

gritstone Gritstone or grit is a hard, coarse-grained, siliceous sandstone. This term is especially applied to such sandstones that are quarried for building material. British gritstone was used for millstones to mill flour, to grind wood into pulp for pa ...

. It is believed that this genus went extinct during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition due to

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and a nutritional crisis. Reexamination of Brazilian remains has revealed a higher degree of species diversity than previously ascertained. This study also notes that ''Morenelaphus'' were rather large sized cervids.

References

Capreolinae Prehistoric deer Pleistocene even-toed ungulates Pleistocene mammals of South America Lujanian Pleistocene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Pleistocene Bolivia Fossils of Bolivia Pleistocene Brazil Fossils of Brazil Pleistocene Paraguay Fossils of Paraguay Pleistocene Uruguay Fossils of Uruguay Fossil taxa described in 1922 Prehistoric even-toed ungulate genera {{paleo-eventoedungulate-stub