Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach 1799
Creators: name: Fourvel, Jean-Baptiste
name: Fosse, Philippe
name: Fernandez, Philippe
name: Antoine, Pierre-Olivier
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Cervidae
Megaloceros
Megaloceros giganteus

description: Megaloceros giganteus Blumenbach, 1799   
MATERIAL EXAMINED. — NISP =46; MNI =16.  
 1842 sample: 2 right mandibles; 1 left mandible; 2 right tali; 1 naviculo-cuboid.   
 1989-1992 sample: 1 left maxilla; 1 right mandible; 3 left mandibles; 6 left P2; 1 left M1; 3 left M2; 1 left M3; 1 left d4; 2 right p3; 2 right p4; 1 left p4; 1 right m1; 1 left m1; 2 right m2; 1 left m2; 3 left m3; 8 tooth fragments; 1 right humerus; 2 left humeri.   
DESCRIPTION  
 The giant deer M. giganteus is represented by 46 remains (mainly cranial elements including teeth). Sixteen individuals (mainly adults and olds) have been counted based on the dispersion within the stratigraphy. The giant deer is quite common in the Late Pleistocene interval, even if the samples are generally small (Kurtén 1968; Delpech & Guérin in Guérin & Patou-Mathis 1996; Magniez 2010). Dental morphology of the Fouvent sample closely matches that of published material (e.g., Thenius 1966; Croitor 2008; Magniez 2010). Upper premolars and molars are robust with a strong cingulum. On the lingual face, they have a well developed and individualized interlobar column. The mandibular fragments of Fouvent with m1, m2 and/or m3 also show individualized interlobar column (Fig.9A, B). Measurements are summarized in Table 14 and their comparison with published data confirms our attribution to the Megaceros. The basal length and the width of six left P2 are quite similar of the ones recorded at Tournal (23- 23 mm for the length and 22-23 for the width in Magniez 2010) and at Conives (22 mm for the length and 21.4 mm for the width in Fourvel 2008). The comparison dataset concerning lower cheek teeth are rarer but the measurements recorded at Fouvent are close to the values of Tournal. Nonetheless the first lower molars are smaller; the length for example is comprised between 15 and 19.5 mm whereas the only m1 from Tournal is 28.1 mm long (Magniez 2010). In addition, if the measurements of the m2 are similar at Fouvent and Tournal they are much smaller than the only m2 of the megaceros of Labeko Koba, Spain (L= 34 mm; B= 22.2 mm). Six postcranial elements have been attributed to the giant deer based on their morphology and general proportions. Three humeral shaft fragments (G8.A/B.215, E11.B.71, F10.B.416) have been determined as a giant deer because of their size and morphology excluding each other large species (equids, bovids or rhinoceros). Two right tali (1842.103 and 1842.79) and one naviculo-cuboid (1842.80) present the same characters as described in Breda (2005) and Magniez (2010).
description: Published as part of Fourvel, Jean-Baptiste, Fosse, Philippe, Fernandez, Philippe & Antoine, Pierre-Olivier, 2015, Large mammals of Fouvent-Saint-Andoche (Haute-Saône, France): a glimpse into a Late Pleistocene hyena den, pp. 237-266 in Geodiversitas 37 (2) on pages 259-260, DOI: 10.5252/g2015n2a5, http://zenodo.org/record/4535125