Megaloceros

Megaloceros
250px
Scientific name
Megaloceros giganteus
Period(s)		Pleistocene
Length		???
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Name in other languages  メガロケロス  大角鹿  Mégacéros  Megaloceros  Megalocero  Гигантский олень  메갈로케로스  大角鹿  Mégacéros  Megaloceros  Riesenhirsch  Reuzenhert

The Megaloceros is a fossil that can be donated to the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Donating to the museum

In New Horizons

"The Megaloceros was a relative of the deer that lived during the Ice Age, long after the dinosaurs. It was also known as "megaloceros giganteus"...which just means "deer with large horns." True to their name, they were deer with antlers spanning roughly 10 feet across! Imagine the majesty! While smaller than many dinosaurs, they were nonetheless a very charismatic example of megafauna."

Further information

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 to Siberia to China. A related form is recorded in 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 bogs in Ireland, the animal was not exclusive to Ireland 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). For this reason, the name "giant deer" is used in some publications, instead of "Irish elk". A study has suggested that the Irish elk was closely related to the Red deer (Cervus elaphus). However, other phylogenetic analyses support a sister-group relationship with fallow deer (Dama dama).

More information on this topic is available at Wikipedia.