Early and Middle Pleistocene elk (Alcinae JERDON, 1874, Cervidae, Mammalia) from Poland

Abstract

Three alcine species: Cervalces carnutorum (LAUGEL, 1862), Cervalces lati- frons (JOHNSON, 1874) and Alces alces LINNAEUS, 1758, were found in Early and Middle Pleistocene sites in Poland. The morphology of the teeth and limb bone fragments of the Early Pleistocene C. carnutorum fromabia Cave and the Middle Pleistocene C. latifrons from the Kozi Grzbiet are described in relation to Eurasian representatives of the Alcinae. The size of C. carnutorum was larger than typical forms of the species from localities in W. Europe. C. carnutorum differed from the other elk in its feeding adaptations and diet, and was similar to other cervids, though it was fully adapted to living in wetlands. A single tooth from Kozi Grzbiet has a size and structure typical of C. latifrons which was wide- spread in Holarctic in the Middle Pleistocene.