Often called the “Irish Elk,” Megaloceros giganteus ranged beyond Ireland and its closest living relative is the fallow deer, not the elk. This giant deer lived across northern Eurasia from Siberia to Ireland, and like other deer, shed its giant antlers every year. It is the Smithsonian’s oldest mounted fossil skeleton, having been on display since 1872 and will once again be on view in its new pose when “The David H. Koch Hall of Fossils—Deep Time” opens June 8 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
Credit: Smithsonian Institution
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