Megaloceros

The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus) 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, from Ireland to northern Asia and Africa. A related form is recorded from China during the Late Pleistocene The most recent remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in Siberia.

Although most skeletons have been found in Irish bogs the animal was not exclusively Irish and was not closely related to either of the living species currently called elk -Alces alces (the European elk, known in North America as the moose) or Cervus canadensis (the North American elk or wapiti). Early phylogenetic analyses supported the idea of a sister-group relationship between fallow deer Dama dama and the Irish Elk.

However, newer morphological studies prove that the Irish elk is more closely related to its modern regional counterparts of the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)^. For this reason, the name "Giant Deer" is used in some publications.
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