Head to Head: the case for combative behaviour in Megaloceros giganteus

Author(s)
Klinkhamer, Ada J
Woodley, Nicholas
Neenan, James M
Parr, William C H
Clausen, Philip
Sanchez-Villagra, Marcelo R
Lister, Adrian
Wroe, Stephen
Publication Date
2019-09-19
Abstract
The largest antlers of any known deer species belonged to the extinct giant Megaloceros giganteus. It has been argued that their antlers were too large for use in fighting, instead being used only in ritualised displays to attract mates. Here we used finite element analysis (FEA) to test whether the antlers of M. giganteus could have withstood forces generated during fighting behaviour. We compared the mechanical performance of antlers in M. giganteus with three extant deer species: red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama), and moose (Alces alces). Von Mises stress results suggest that M. giganteus was capable of withstanding some fighting loads, provided that their antlers interlocked proximally, and that it was best-adapted for withstanding loads from twisting rather than pushing actions, as were other deer with palmate antlers. We conclude that fighting in M. giganteus was likely more constrained and predictable than in extant deer.
Link
Publisher
University of New England
Title
Head to Head: the case for combative behaviour in Megaloceros giganteus
Type of document
Dataset
Entity Type
Publication

Files:

NameSizeformatDescriptionLink
opendataset/Cervus elaphus 182393.377 KB Dama View document
opendataset/Alces alces 164528.014 KB Alces View document
opendataset/Megaloceros giganteus 158392.305 KB Megalocerus View document
opendataset/Dama dama 145607.927 KB Cervus View document