The lowermost prongs near the base were palmate.

Its antlers were straight, with thorn-like prongs.

savini Mid-Pleistocene species, slightly larger than a caribou, first fossils found near Sainte Savine, France and near Soria, Spain. The antlers were more compact, and the tines near the base large and palmate. giganteus, to the point where it is often regarded as a paleosubspecies of the latter. Known from antlers, teeth and postcranial material. novocarthaginiensis Described from the latest Early Pleistocene 0.9-0.8 Ma of Cueva Victoria in Spain. luochuanensis Early to Mid-Pleistocene species in the Shaanxi Loess of China, alternatively considered a species of Sinomegaceros. Has subsequently been suggested to belong to Arvernoceros instead. stavropolensis Early Pleistocene species from Southwestern Russia. savini and related taxa ( novocarthaginiensis and matritensis) are split into the separate genus Praedama by some scholars. 2006).Īlthough sometimes synonymized with Megaloceros, Praemegaceros, Sinomegaceros and Megaceroides are apparently generically distinct. The genus was part of a Late Neogene Eurasian radiation of fallow deer relatives of which today only two taxa remain.(Lister et al. rhopalophorus was just 65 cm (26 in) high at the shoulder – are sometimes included in Megaloceros as a subgenus.ĭespite 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 various species of the Cretan genus Candiacervus – the smallest of which, C. They are the most cursorial deer known, with most species averaging slightly below 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) at the withers. Most members of the genus were extremely large animals that favoured meadows or open woodlands. Fallow deer are thought to be their closest living relatives. The type and only certain member of the genus, Megaloceros giganteus, vernacularly known as the 'Irish elk' or 'giant elk', is also the best known. The debate continues to this day and scientific theories are outbid.Megaloceros (from Greek: μεγαλος megalos + κερας keras, literally 'Great Horn' see also Lister (1987)) is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the early Pleistocene to the early Holocene. The second hypothesize that these were the men and their hunting methods that would have eradicated. The first assumes that they were victims of climate change due to the end of the ice age. The cause of the disappearance of these giant animals is still not determined. Therefore, they lived in the large grassy. These giants were unable to live in the forest because of their giant wood. Especially as their size, they were a lot of meat, while their bones had been very useful for the various tools of the time. Because of this docile hand, these animals were the main targets of prehistoric man.

Fighting between the males were mostly by intimidation. The megaceros were not animals that attack. Indeed, paleontology research has revealed that megaceros had the same behavior that deer: rut, fighting between males, or annual wood loss.

Their appearance would have been closer to that of a deer suede, while their lives would have been exactly that of a current deer. According to the preserved bones, the megaceros had a highly developed dorsal hump. In Irish castles, most of the rooms are decorated with their huge wooden or their fossilized skull. But it was in Ireland they were the most abundant. These giant eland existed in Asia, Europe and even in China. Compared to the current timber elk, wood of these animals are gigantic and 3.70 meters wide. According to paleontological studies, it would be part of the Deer, measuring over 2 m and weighing 700 kg. Although we might think that this is an imaginary animal given its huge size, it is indeed an animal that has existed, but died 10.000 years ago, the same period as the mammoths.

Megaloceros giganteus irish elk