an index fossil such as the irish elk is
The original description was considered by Adrian Lister in 1987 to be inadequate for a taxonomic definition. [35], Assuming a similar response to starvation as red deer, a large, healthy Irish elk stag with 40 kg (88 lb) antlers would have had 20-to-28 kg (44-to-62 lb) antlers under poor conditions;[16][32] and an average sized Irish elk stag with 35 kg (77 lb) antlers would have had 18 to 25 kg (40 to 55 lb) antlers under poorer conditions,[38] similar sizes to the moose. There is no evidence, however, that Hunter knew of Parkinson's drawings of the mature adult A. alces head, complete with antlers (Owen folio 282 Ingles and Sawyer 1979: 146). A fossil is the preserved remains of a dead organism from millions of years ago. - A. Kitchener - 1987. The taxonomy of giant deer lacks consensus, with genus names used for species varying substantially between authors. 1977. Large horn size increases extinction risk in bovids,". Some held that the antlers, under constant and strong sexual selection, increased in size because males were using them in combat for access to females. (2014), "Will their armaments be their downfall? [24][25] The oldest generally accepted records of the genus are from the late Early Pleistocene. "[4], Historically, the extinction of the elk has been attributed to the encumbering size of the antlers, a "maladaptation" making fleeing through forests especially difficult for males while being chased by human hunters,[16] or being too taxing nutritionally when the vegetation makeup shifted. [11] The close relationship with Dama was supported by another cytochrome b study in 2006,[8] a 2015 study involving the full mitochondrial genome,[12] and by a 2017 morphological analysis of the bony labyrinth. Orthogenesis was claimed to have caused an evolutionary trajectory towards antlers that became larger and larger, eventually causing the species' extinction because the antlers grew to sizes which inhibited proper feeding habits and caused the animal to become trapped in tree branches. When the climate changed at the end of the last Ice Age, the vegetation in the animal's habitat also changed towards species that presumably could not deliver sufficient amounts of the required minerals, at least in the western part of its range. Because of these religious concerns, even many scientists in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, when fossils were being widely discovered, denied the reality of extinction, believing that the animals depicted from the fossils were still living in remote regions. ... such as the leatherback turtle and common shrew, have lived on through several mass extinction events. Biostratigraphic markers for assessing age. [23], M. giganteus belongs to the genus Megaloceros. The Irish Elk is an extinct species within the Cervidae family - closely related to living deer species. [24][25] The earliest possible record of the genus is a partial antler from the Early Pleistocene MN 17 (2.5–1.8 Ma) of Stavropol Krai in the North Causcaus of Russia, which were given the name of M. stavropolensis in 2016,[26] however these have been subsequently suggested to belong to Arvernoceros instead. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from Ireland to Lake Baikal in Siberia. Although abundant skeletal remains have … Hughes, S., T.J. Hayden, C.J. [31][32] Nonetheless, compared to Alces, Irish elk appear to have had a more robust skeleton, with older and more mature Alces skeletons bearing some resemblance to those of prime Irish elk, and younger Irish elk resembling prime Alces. Not until 1812 did the great French scientist Georges Cuvier document that the Irish elk, along with other fossil vertebrates such as the mammoth, did not belong to any living species of mammal. b) a good representation in the fossil record. Vislobokova, I. [45], Lister and Stewart note that "With the exception of the Irish late-glacial, finds of M. giganteus, throughout its Pleistocene history, are generally low in abundance at sites where they occur, suggesting that it was generally a rare species. Geologic timescale. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. The male Megaloceros giganteus is the pride of Irish palaeontology, with a skeleton nearly three metres high from hooves to tine-tips. [25], Based on Upper Palaeolithic cave paintings, the Irish elk seems to have had overall light colouration, with a dark stripe running along the back, a stripe on either side from shoulder to haunch, a dark collar on the throat and a chinstrap, and a dark hump on the withers (between the shoulder blades). It is a Pleistocene deer of the subfamily Cer-vinae; (Alces alces, the European moose, is called an "elk" in England; the super-ficial similarity of its large antlers to those of Megaloceros inspired the vernacular mis-nomer). The Irish elk is seen as having arisen from forms with smaller forms. This is within the range of present day wapiti/red deer (Cervus spp.) Thus, in the antler growth phase, male deer from Ireland were suffering from a condition similar to osteoporosis (Moen et al. A related form is known to inhabit China during Late Pleistocene. Vislobokova, I. The remains of Irish elk were of high value: "In 1865, full skeletons might fetch £30, while particularly good heads with antlers could cost £15." [55] Indeed Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society bought a full skeleton in 1847, from Glennon's in Dublin, for £38. [13] The 2006 and 2017 studies also directly suggest that the results of the 2005 cytochrome b paper were the result of DNA contamination. [37] For rut, a lean stag normally 575 kg (1,268 lb) may have fattened up to 690 kg (1,520 lb), and would burn through the extra fat over the next month. For body size, at about 450–600 kg (990–1,300 lb) and up to 700 kg (1,500 lb) or more,[31][32][33] the Irish elk was the heaviest known cervine ("Old World deer");[11] and tied with the extant Alaska moose (Alces alces gigas) as the third largest known deer, after the extinct Cervalces latifrons and Cervalces scotti. In 1697, Dr. Thomas Molyneux provided the first published description. Its finding in the fossil record also caused theological debate. [4] The final demise may have been caused by a number of factors both on a continental and regional scale, including climate change and hunting. 1050-1500)-language text, Articles containing Middle Irish (900-1200)-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 9 February 2021, at 07:09. Antlers consist of bony outgrowths from the head with no covering of keratin as is found in true horns. The earliest known drawing of antlers of giant deer date to 1588 (Gould 1977). Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from Ireland to Lake Baikal in Siberia. These results make the Irish Elk the largest deer to have ever lived. This is much larger than extant species. Because most of the individuals found were juvenile or geriatric and were likely suffering from malnutrition, they probably died from winterkill. Information and translations of index fossil in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. However, Megaloceros giganteus was a relatively recent arrival to Ireland, first appearing somewhat about 37,000 years ago and lasting until about 32,000 years ago (IPCC 2000) and then again inhabiting Ireland during the Allerod interstadial phase at the end of the last glaciation, from about 12,000 to 11,000 years ago (IPCC 2000; Gould 1977). Orthogenesis: Evolution in Straight Lines Many modern deer species do this in part because males and females have different nutritional requirements and need to consume different types of plants. eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'newworldencyclopedia_org-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',162,'0','0'])); Megaloceros giganteus is a member of the deer family Cervidae, a taxon of even-toed ungulates (order Artiodactyla), that includes elk, moose, caribou or reindeer, muntjac, red deer, and white-tailed deer, among others. Pollman, W. Rosendahl, B. Stapel "Erstmals datierte organische Artefakte aus dem Spätpaläolithikum Westfalens Archäologie in Westfalen". [24] Croitor has suggested that M. giganteus is closely related to what was originally described as Dama clactoniana mugharensis (which he proposes be named Megaloceros mugharensis) from the Middle Pleistocene of Tabun Cave in Israel, due to similarities in the antlers, molars and premolars. This is the largest deer known to have ever lived. [18][21]Before the 20th century, the Irish elk, having evolved from smaller ancestors with smaller antlers, was taken as a prime example of orthogenesis (directed evolution), an evolutionary mechanism opposed to Darwinian evolution in which the successive species within the lineage become increasingly modified in a single undeviating direction, evolution proceeding in a straight line void of natural selection. Their native range included Europe and northern Asia – from Ireland in the west to as far as Lake Baikal in the east. Valerius Geist suggested that the hump may have also been used to store fat. a fossil found in a particular site. ... An absolute dating method for organic remains such as bone or shell, in which the amount of … c) the preservation of soft tissue such as muscle. In 1989, American palaeontologist Dale Guthrie suggested that, like bison, the hump allowed a higher hinging action of the front legs to increase stride length while running.
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