The Irish Elk, Megaloceros, is misnamed, for it is neither exclusively Irish nor is it an elk. It is a giant extinct deer — the largest deer species ever — that stood up to seven feet at the shoulder (2.1 meters), with antlers spanning up to 12 feet (3.65 meters).
The Irish elk evolved during the glacial periods of the last million years, during the Pleistocene Epoch. It ranged throughout Europe, northern Asia, and northern Africa, and a related form is known from China.
The name “Irish” stuck because excellent, well-preserved fossils of the giant deer are especially common in lake sediments and peat bogs in Ireland. The skull on display at the old UC Museum of Paleontology came from such a locality, 18 miles north of Dublin.
Such skulls, with their enormous racks of antlers, adorn the walls of castles and hunting lodges throughout Ireland. On the other hand, the complete skeleton pictured at the top of the page, on display at the Paleontological Institute in Moscow, was found at the other end of Europe, near the Russian town of Sapozhka.
Unable to adapt to the subarctic conditions of the last glaciation or the marked transition that occurred after the final retreat of the ice sheet, the largest deer that ever lived became extinct — the last one in Ireland dying around 11,000 years ago.
Megaloceros may have possibly survived in continental Europe into historic times.
Beyond its arresting size and singular appearance, the giant deer is of great significance to paleontologists because of the way in which the animal has become involved in evolutionary debates down through the years.