Irish elk
| Irish elk Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene to Middle Holocene, | |
|---|---|
| Mounted skeleton | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Cervidae |
| Subfamily: | Cervinae |
| Genus: | †Megaloceros |
| Species: | †M. giganteus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) | |
| Time averaged range of M. giganteus during the Late Pleistocene | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus), also called the giant deer or Irish deer, is an extinct species of deer in the genus Megaloceros and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia during the Pleistocene, from Ireland (where it is known from abundant remains found in bogs) to Lake Baikal in Siberia. The most recent remains of the species have been radiocarbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in western Russia. Its antlers, which can span 3.5 metres (11 ft) across are the largest known of any deer. It is not closely related to either living species called the elk, with it being widely agreed that its closest living relatives are fallow deer (Dama).
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