Megaloceros
04-29-2005, 03:46 PM
#1
Nontypical Buck
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Megaloceros
This animal is the topic of another post that seems to of have "evolved" into a discussion having nothing to do with topic. So I figured I would give this mighty beast its respect by starting a new post.
YES, in fact this was a real animal. I was just looking at the fossil of one of these deer last week. A great example can seen at the Musuem of Natural History.
The Irish Elk, Megaloceros, is misnamed, for it is neither exclusively Irish nor is it an elk. It is a giant extinct deer, the largest deer species ever, that stood up to seven feet at the shoulder (2.1 meters), with antlers spanning up to 12 feet (3.65 meters). The Irish elk evolved during the glacial periods of the last million years, during the Pleistocene Epoch. It ranged throughout Europe, northern Asia and northern Africa, and a related form is known from China. The name "Irish" has stuck because excellent, well-preserved fossils of the giant deer are especially common in lake sediments and peat bogs in Ireland.
Unable to adapt to the subartic conditions of the last glaciation or the marked transition that occured after the final retreat of the ice sheet, the largest deer that ever lived became extinct, the last one in Ireland dying around 11,000 years ago.
YES, in fact this was a real animal. I was just looking at the fossil of one of these deer last week. A great example can seen at the Musuem of Natural History.
The Irish Elk, Megaloceros, is misnamed, for it is neither exclusively Irish nor is it an elk. It is a giant extinct deer, the largest deer species ever, that stood up to seven feet at the shoulder (2.1 meters), with antlers spanning up to 12 feet (3.65 meters). The Irish elk evolved during the glacial periods of the last million years, during the Pleistocene Epoch. It ranged throughout Europe, northern Asia and northern Africa, and a related form is known from China. The name "Irish" has stuck because excellent, well-preserved fossils of the giant deer are especially common in lake sediments and peat bogs in Ireland.
Unable to adapt to the subartic conditions of the last glaciation or the marked transition that occured after the final retreat of the ice sheet, the largest deer that ever lived became extinct, the last one in Ireland dying around 11,000 years ago.
04-29-2005, 04:21 PM
#3
Nontypical Buck
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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RE: Megaloceros
Much like todays whitetail it seems to have been able to live in a very wide array of habitats.
They also seemed to have a yearly rut as well......
"Many of the fossils found in Irish peat bogs are of males suffering from malnutrition after the rutting (mating) season, suggesting that they lived very like modern deer today where males fight for the right to mate with a group of females every autumn. "
They also seemed to have a yearly rut as well......
"Many of the fossils found in Irish peat bogs are of males suffering from malnutrition after the rutting (mating) season, suggesting that they lived very like modern deer today where males fight for the right to mate with a group of females every autumn. "
