Cervalces scotti

 ( Cervalces ) 

Cervalces scotti, also known as stag-moose, is an Extinction species of large deer that lived in North America during the Late Pleistocene epoch. It is the only known North American member of the genus Cervalces. Its closest living relative is the modern moose ( Alces alces).

It had palmate antlers that were more complex than those of a moose and a muzzle more closely resembling that of a typical deer."AMNH Bestiary." AMNH Bestiary. American Museum of Natural History, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014

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Description It was as large as the modern moose, with an elk-like head, long legs, and palmate antlers that were more complex and heavily branching than the moose.Raia, Pasquale, Federico Passaro, Francesco Carotenuto, Leonardo Maiorino, Paolo Piras, Luciano Teresi, Shai Meiri et al. "Cope’s rule and the universal scaling law of ornament complexity." The American Naturalist 186, no. 2 (2015): 165-175. Cervalces scotti reached in length and a weight of . The stag-moose resided in North America during an era with other megafauna such as the woolly mammoth, ground sloth, long horn bison, and smilodon."Cervalces Scotti." Maxilla & Mandible. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. . The species became extinct approximately 11,500 years ago, toward the end of the most recent ice age, as part of a mass extinction of large North American mammals.

The first evidence of Cervalces scotti found in modern times was discovered at Big Bone Lick, Kentucky by William Clark, circa 1805. A more complete skeleton was found in 1885 by William Barryman Scott in New Jersey. Mummified remains have also been found.

One of the most complete Cervalces skulls ever discovered was dredged from a pond in Kendallville, Indiana and dated to 13,500 BP.

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Extinction Cervalces scotti, like several other members of its genus, probably lived in marshes, swamps and bogs, as well as spruce-taiga floral communities. There were also surroundings ranging from tundra–mixed coniferous forests to deciduous woodlands. These sedges and willows may not have been suitable food products, but they provide an imagery of the ecology of the stag-moose. The change in flora and fauna due to complete deglaciation probably also affected the living conditions of the stag-moose in states like Iowa and Wisconsin, where the stag-moose was found at more than 20 sites.Bower, Bruce. "America's Talk: The Great Divide." Science News 137.23 (1990): 360-362. JSTOR. Web The stag-moose reproduced more often than megaherbivores, and so the hypothesis is that the stag-moose's disappearance is linked to the emergence of the "true moose" instead.Levy, Sharon. "Clashing with Titans." BioScience 56.4 (2006): 292. Web.McDonald, H. Gregory. "New Records of the Elk-moose Cervalces scotti from Ohio". American Midland Naturalist 122.2 (1989): 349-356. JSTOR. Web.O'Gorman, Jodie A. and Lovis, William A. "Before Removal: An Archaeological Perspective on the Southern Lake Michigan Basin". Midcontinental Journal of Archaeology 31.1: 24. Web

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Palaeobiology Cervalces scotti is thought to have evolved from a population of Cervalces latifrons that migrated into North America probably sometime during the Middle Pleistocene. It shared the spruce parkland ecosystem with other herbivorous megafauna, such as the caribou ( Rangifer tarandus), the woodland Muskox ( Ovibos moschatus), and the Castoroides ( Castoroides sp.),End of the Pleistocene: elk-moose (Cervalces) and caribou (Rangifer) in Wisconsin Charles A. Long Christopher J. Yahnke /ref> in a range from what is now southern Canada to Arkansas and from Iowa to New Jersey. As the retreated, moose (which had crossed the Bering land bridge from Asia)

George A. Feldhamer (1982). 9780801874161, Johns Hopkins University Press. . ISBN 9780801874161

may have populated the habitat of Cervalces scotti and caused its extinction by outcompetition. Although there is no paleontological evidence that it was associated with humans, other theories for its extinction have been proposed. Notably, there is speculation that hunting by newly arrived humans caused the extinction of Cervalces scotti and other Megafauna. Additionally, some have proposed a sudden extinction by disease, brought by small mammals in association with humans. The oldest known fossil of Cervalces scotti was found in the bed of the Skunk River in Iowa, with the specimen dating back approximately 30,000 years ago. The area in which the fossil was found and the date implies that Cervalces scotti lived before a massive ice sheet covered the area in which it inhabited, which could also be a possible cause of its extinction. Since the stag-moose resided in a woodland habitat, climate change and loss of natural pastures also could have played a role in its extinction.Strauss, Bob. "Stag Moose (Cervalces Scotti)" . About. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 October 2014.

Cervalces scotti probably lived in a narrow geographic range, characterized by a spruce-dominant mixed conifer and deciduous wet woodlandBlaine W.Schubert, Russell Wm.Graham, H.GregoryMcDonald, Eric C.Grimm, Thomas W.Stafford, Jr. Latest Pleistocene paleoecology of Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) and elk-moose (Cervalces scotti) in northern Illinois Quaternary Research Volume 61, Issue 2, March 2004, Pages 231-240 which may have made it more vulnerable to extinction. Remains of Cervalces scotti found in modern-day Ohio have suggested that it and Homo sapiens could have possibly interacted. Fossils of both Cervalces scotti and other large extinct mammals in the area suggest that it may have been a frequent target of early human hunters.Mayhood, Kevin. "Solving a 10,000-year-old mystery - Researchers study clues to figure out what killed giant ice age moose." Columbus Dispatch, The (OH) 16 Sep. 2008, Home Final, News - Science: 04B. NewsBank. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. Remains of the stag moose, along with Paleo-Indians artifacts and the remains of the flat-headed peccary ( Platygonus compressus), Arctodus ( Arctodus simus), and giant beaver were found in the Sheriden Cave in Wyandot County, Ohio.

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External links

• Stag Moose Image Gallery

Categories: Cervalces, Prehistoric Deer, Pleistocene Artiodactyla, Pleistocene Extinctions, Pleistocene Mammals Of North America, Fossil Taxa Described In 1885, Pleistocene Mammals Of Europe

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