On the presence of Late Pleistocene wapiti, Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777 (Cervidae, Mammalia) in the Palaeolithic site Climăuți II (Moldova)

• Main Authors: Croitor, Roman, Obada, Théodor
• Other Authors: Economies, sociétés et environnements préhistoriques (ESEP), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Université de Provence - Aix-Marseille 1-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Zoology, Academy of Sciences of Moldova (ASM)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: Strongyloceros spelaeus; red deer; Europe; taxonomy; antlers; Cervus elaphus palmidactyloceros; systematics; [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics; Phylogenetics and taxonomy; [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology; [SDU.STU.PG]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Paleontology; Giganteus; Rangifer tarandus; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01737219; https://hal.science/hal-01737219/document; https://hal.science/hal-01737219/file/Croitor%26Obada2018.pdf

International audience This article reports antler remains from the Late Paleolithic site of Climăuți II (Republic of Moldova) confirming the presence of wapiti Cervus canadensis in the Late Pleistocene of Western Eurasia. The occurrence of wapiti in the East Carpathian area by 20 ky BP coincides with the local extinction of Megaloceros giganteus, Crocuta spelaea, and Ursus spelaeus, and substitution of local forest reindeer with grazing tundra-steppe Rangifer tarandus constantini. We here provide an overview of paleontological data and opinions on the presence of Cervus canadensis in Europe, a discussion on the taxonomic status and systematic position of the extinct deer Cervus elaphus palmidactyloceros, and propose a dispersal model for wapiti in Europe during the Late Pleistocene.