Biomedical Ephemera, or: A Frog for Your Boils

skullandbone:

fossil elk and human skeleton

“Fossil elk” was the name given to the “elk” bones found in the Irish peat bogs in the 17th and 18th century. The bones are actually that of a huge species of the genus Megaloceros. They ranged throughout Eurasia, but were best-preserved in the Irish bogs, so were known as the “Irish Elk”. However, they’re more correctly known as the Giant Deer, as their closest living relatives are the fallow deer Dama genus. 

Their body size was just larger than the Alaskan moose subspecies, but their antlers were significantly larger…they were actually large enough that during the season that they grew (they were shed every year, like antlers are wont to do), the deer suffered from severe osteoporosis.