A new form of wapiti Cervus canadensis Erxleben, 1777 (Cervidae, Mammalia) from the Late Pleistocene of France

• Published in: Palaeoworld
• Main Author: Croitor, Roman
• Other Authors: Laboratoire méditerranéen de préhistoire Europe-Afrique (LAMPEA), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Systematics; Megafauna; Refugium; Last Glacial Maximum; Deer; Antlers; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.BA.ZV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Vertebrate Zoology; [SDV.BID.EVO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Populations and Evolution [q-bio.PE]; [SDV.BID.SPT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity/Systematics; Phylogenetics and taxonomy; Hippolyte; Tundra
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03126334; https://hal.science/hal-03126334/document; https://hal.science/hal-03126334/file/S1871174X19301295.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2019.12.001

International audience A well-preserved antlered braincase of wapiti (Cervus canadensis) from the Late Pleistocene of Saint-Hippolyte (Puy de Dôme, France) is described herein. The specific morphology of antlers suggests peculiar adaptations to the open landscapes of periglacial tundra-steppe that permitted to identify a new fossil subspecies Cervus canadensis combrayicus n. ssp. The specimen attests the occurrence of Cervus canadensis in the paleontological record of Western Europe and helps to clarify the systematical position of some disputed findings of Cervus from Western Europe. The revised systematic position of some fossil and sub-fossil cervid findings reveals the paleobiogeographic story of wapiti in Western Europe during the Last Glacial Maximum and the postglacial time. The treeless Alpine altitudes and Sweden are proposed as the glacial refugia for the last European wapiti. The medium-sized deer from Capri Island is regarded as an insular dwarfed wapiti C. canadensis tyrrhenicus closely related to the continental form C. canadensis palmidactyloceros from the alpine refugium.