High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Candiacervus was a genus of deer native to Pleistocene Crete. Their most notable feature, besides their peculiar, spatula-shaped antlers, was their small stature: the smallest species, C. ropalophorus, stood about 40 cm at the shoulders when fully grown, as can be inferred from a mounted skeleton. As such, the genus is considered to be a textbook example of insular dwarfism. Other features are the relatively short limbs, the massivity of the bones and the simplified antler. Ironically, they were closely related to the giant Irish Elk, with some experts regarding Candiacervus as a subgenus of Megaloceros. The Cretan deer is represented by no less than eight different morphotypes, ranging from dwarf size with withers height of about 40 cm to very large with withers height of about 165 cm. This is explained as a sympatric speciation to occupy all possible empty niches ranging from dense forest to prickly rocks. The coexistence of various environments has been confirmed by studies on the rich fossil avifauna.

Данное издание не является оригинальным. Книга печатается по технологии принт-он-деманд после получения заказа.