Abstract:The article presents a preliminary morphological description of the holotype of Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799) that serves for the description of the species. The article proposes a taxonomical and morphological revision of the nominotypical subspecies M. giganteus giganteus and morphological comparison with other subspecies of M. giganteus. The cluster analysis of diagnostic craniodental and antler characters revealed the systematic position and phylogenetic relationships of M. giganteus with other … Show more
“…The age of C. grayi (1.3–1.25 Mya) fits the timing of the C. nippon lineage to which this fossil is ascribed 36 . C. elaphus acoronatus is the oldest representative of red deer 35 , and its age (1–0.8 Mya) is in agreement with our molecular dating for the oldest branch of the C. elaphus clade. Figure 6 The chronogram for Cervus .…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 88%
“…Our datings are in agreement with the fossil deer C. magnus (2.25–1.26 Mya), which is considered to be ancestral to or close to the ancestor of C. canadensis after the split of the Western and Eastern lineages 33 . In turn, C. nestii , used by us as a calibration point (2.1–1.95 Mya), is most likely associated with the Western lineage 34 , 35 . The age of C. grayi (1.3–1.25 Mya) fits the timing of the C. nippon lineage to which this fossil is ascribed 36 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 98%
“…Finally, we used the exponential distribution prior with the offset of 1.95 Mya and the 95% HPD of 2.6 Mya for the separation of two Cervus clades: C. elaphus + C. hanglu and C. canadensis + C. nippon + C. albirostris . This assumption was based on the fossil C. nestii dated to 2.1–1.95 Mya from Olivola 101 , which probably belongs to the lineage of C. elaphus + C. hanglu 33 , 35 . For the Cervus set, we assumed the normal distribution for the age of the root with the mean of 2.59 Mya and 95% HPD 2.03–3.15 Mya as obtained in the dating for the Muntiacini and Cervini set.…”
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages are recognized as important components of intra- and interspecific biodiversity, and allow to reveal colonization routes and phylogeographic structure of many taxa. Among these is the genus Cervus that is widely distributed across the Holarctic. We obtained sequences of complete mitochondrial genomes from 13 Cervus taxa and included them in global phylogenetic analyses of 71 Cervinae mitogenomes. The well-resolved phylogenetic trees confirmed Cervus to be monophyletic. Molecular dating based on several fossil calibration points revealed that ca. 2.6 Mya two main mitochondrial lineages of Cervus separated in Central Asia, the Western (including C. hanglu and C. elaphus) and the Eastern (comprising C. albirostris, C. canadensis and C. nippon). We also observed convergent changes in the composition of some mitochondrial genes in C. hanglu of the Western lineage and representatives of the Eastern lineage. Several subspecies of C. nippon and C. hanglu have accumulated a large portion of deleterious substitutions in their mitochondrial protein-coding genes, probably due to drift in the wake of decreasing population size. In contrast to previous studies, we found that the relic haplogroup B of C. elaphus was sister to all other red deer lineages and that the Middle-Eastern haplogroup E shared a common ancestor with the Balkan haplogroup C. Comparison of the mtDNA phylogenetic tree with a published nuclear genome tree may imply ancient introgressions of mtDNA between different Cervus species as well as from the common ancestor of South Asian deer, Rusa timorensis and R. unicolor, to the Cervus clade.
“…The age of C. grayi (1.3–1.25 Mya) fits the timing of the C. nippon lineage to which this fossil is ascribed 36 . C. elaphus acoronatus is the oldest representative of red deer 35 , and its age (1–0.8 Mya) is in agreement with our molecular dating for the oldest branch of the C. elaphus clade. Figure 6 The chronogram for Cervus .…”
Section: Resultssupporting
confidence: 88%
“…Our datings are in agreement with the fossil deer C. magnus (2.25–1.26 Mya), which is considered to be ancestral to or close to the ancestor of C. canadensis after the split of the Western and Eastern lineages 33 . In turn, C. nestii , used by us as a calibration point (2.1–1.95 Mya), is most likely associated with the Western lineage 34 , 35 . The age of C. grayi (1.3–1.25 Mya) fits the timing of the C. nippon lineage to which this fossil is ascribed 36 .…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 98%
“…Finally, we used the exponential distribution prior with the offset of 1.95 Mya and the 95% HPD of 2.6 Mya for the separation of two Cervus clades: C. elaphus + C. hanglu and C. canadensis + C. nippon + C. albirostris . This assumption was based on the fossil C. nestii dated to 2.1–1.95 Mya from Olivola 101 , which probably belongs to the lineage of C. elaphus + C. hanglu 33 , 35 . For the Cervus set, we assumed the normal distribution for the age of the root with the mean of 2.59 Mya and 95% HPD 2.03–3.15 Mya as obtained in the dating for the Muntiacini and Cervini set.…”
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) lineages are recognized as important components of intra- and interspecific biodiversity, and allow to reveal colonization routes and phylogeographic structure of many taxa. Among these is the genus Cervus that is widely distributed across the Holarctic. We obtained sequences of complete mitochondrial genomes from 13 Cervus taxa and included them in global phylogenetic analyses of 71 Cervinae mitogenomes. The well-resolved phylogenetic trees confirmed Cervus to be monophyletic. Molecular dating based on several fossil calibration points revealed that ca. 2.6 Mya two main mitochondrial lineages of Cervus separated in Central Asia, the Western (including C. hanglu and C. elaphus) and the Eastern (comprising C. albirostris, C. canadensis and C. nippon). We also observed convergent changes in the composition of some mitochondrial genes in C. hanglu of the Western lineage and representatives of the Eastern lineage. Several subspecies of C. nippon and C. hanglu have accumulated a large portion of deleterious substitutions in their mitochondrial protein-coding genes, probably due to drift in the wake of decreasing population size. In contrast to previous studies, we found that the relic haplogroup B of C. elaphus was sister to all other red deer lineages and that the Middle-Eastern haplogroup E shared a common ancestor with the Balkan haplogroup C. Comparison of the mtDNA phylogenetic tree with a published nuclear genome tree may imply ancient introgressions of mtDNA between different Cervus species as well as from the common ancestor of South Asian deer, Rusa timorensis and R. unicolor, to the Cervus clade.
“…However, some characters observed in the Pantalla specimens (e.g., rostral edge of the orbit reaching the level of M2; elongated metapodials) do not fit the revised diagnosis of ‘ P.’ nestii by Croitor 12 . The latter author considers nestii as the earliest species of the genus Cervus based on similarities with the extant red deer especially in cranial morphology 12 , 22 , 23 . However, in our opinion, his conclusions are biased by relying mostly on the skull IGF 243 of ‘ P.’ nestii from Upper Valdarno 6 , 8 , which is heavily deformed and belongs to a juvenile individual (see below for details on ontogenetic variation in ‘Pseudodama’ ).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Some authors preferred to use the name Dama for all these species due to similarities with modern fallow deer (e.g., 10 , 18 , 19 ), others even assigned the Italian and French lineages to the Asian genera Axis and Rusa , respectively 20 . Croitor attributed European Dama -like deer to a variety of different, apparently unrelated genera ( Cervus , Dama , Metacervocerus , Praeelaphus ), sometimes co-occurring in the same sites 12 , 21 – 23 . A similar taxonomic interpretation is also followed in a recent phylogenetic study 24 , in which although the proximity between Plio-Pleistocene Dama -like deer and the extant Dama and Cervus is recognized, the relationships between all these forms are far from resolved.…”
Here, we report on the exceptionally well-preserved deer record from the locality of Pantalla (central Italy), dated in the Early Pleistocene (ca. 2.1–2.0 million years ago). The fossils show a combination of characters that allows an unambiguous attribution to ‘Pseudodama’ nestii, of which they represent one of the most informative collections to date. Our comparisons—also conducted through CT-based methods on endocranial structures—reveal that the cranial and postcranial skeleton of ‘P.’ nestii displays a mosaic of intermediate characters between extant Dama and Cervus, but also that the affinities with Dama are prevalent. Some Cervus-like features especially in cranial morphology, can be interpreted as plesiomorphic characters supporting a basal position of ‘Pseudodama’ among the Cervini. Interestingly, three bone anomalies are described in the two male crania of ‘P.’ nestii from Pantalla and are interpreted as palaeotraumatological evidence resulting from different injuries suffered by the deer during their life. This allows opening a treasure trove of information on paleobiological aspects, including ontogeny and antler cycle and function.
Antlers are the most conspicuous trait of cervids and have been used in the past to establish a classification of their fossil and living representatives. Since the availability of molecular data, morphological characters have generally become less important for phylogenetic reconstructions. In recent years, however, the appreciation of morphological characters has increased, and they are now more frequently used in addition to molecular data to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cervids. A persistent challenge when using antler traits in deer systematics is finding a consensus on the homology of structures. Here, we review early and recent attempts to homologize antler structures and objections to this approach, compare and evaluate recent advances on antler homologies, and critically discuss these different views in order to offer a basis for further scientific exchange on the topic. We further present some developmental aspects of antler branching patterns and discuss their potential for reconstructing cervid systematics. The use of heterogeneous data for reconstructing phylogenies has resulted in partly conflicting hypotheses on the systematic position of certain cervid species, on which we also elaborate here. We address current discussions on the use of different molecular markers in cervid systematics and the question whether antler morphology and molecular data can provide a consistent picture on the evolutionary history of cervids. In this context, special attention is given to the antler morphology and the systematic position of the enigmatic Pere David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus).
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