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On the systematic position of the large-sized deer from Apollonia, Early Pleistocene, Greece

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Abstract

The revision of the large-sized deer association from the early Pleistocene site Apollonia (Early Pleistocene; Greece), revealed the presence of two species,Praemegaceros pliotarandoides (De Alessandri, 1903) and a giant representative of the genusArvernoceros. P. pliotarandoides (=Psekupsoceros orientalis Radulesco & Samson, 1967) is characterized by advanced dental morphology, lack of the middle antler tine, and dichotomously branched distal part of the antlers and is regarded as the direct forerunner of middle PleistoceneP. verticornis. The species attribution of the ApollonianArvernoceros is not clear enough because of the incomplete data, and for this reason we keep this form under the nameArvernoceros cf.verestchagini. The presence ofArvernoceros in Apollonia certainly extends its chronological occurrence to early Pleistocene and a new generic definition is proposed. Several taxonomic and systematic questions on early Pleistocene large-sized deer of Europe are also discussed.

Kurzfassung

Die Revision der großwüchsigen Hirsche aus dem Altpleistozän von Apollonia (Griechenland) ergab das Auftreten zweier Arten,Praemegaceros pliotarandoides (De Alessandri, 1903) und ein riesenwüchsiger Vertreter der GattungArvernoceros. P. pliotarandoides (=Psekupsoceros orientalis Radulesco & Samson, 1967) wird durch eine fortschrittliche Zahnmorphologie, Fehlen der mittleren Geweihsprosse und den sich dichotom verzweigenden distalen Teil des Geweihs charakterisiert. Er wird als der direkte Vorläufer des mittelpleistozänenP. verticornis angesehen. Aufgrund der unvollständigen Daten ist die artliche Zuordnung desArvenoceras aus Apollonia nicht sicher, weswegen wir diese Form unter dem NamenArvernoceros cf.verestchagini führen. Das Vorkommen vonArvenoceras in Apollonia verlegt das zeitliche Auftreten der Gattung eindeutig in das Altpleistozän vor. Eine neue Gattungsdefinition wird vorgeschlagen. Außerdem werden verschiedene taxonomische und systematische Fragen bezüglich der großwüchsigen Hirsche aus dem Altpleistozän von Europa diskutiert.

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  1. Institute of Zoology, Academiei str. 1, 2028, Kishinau, Moldova

    Roman Croitor

  2. Museum of the Geological Department, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

    Dimitris S. Kostopoulos

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Croitor, R., Kostopoulos, D.S. On the systematic position of the large-sized deer from Apollonia, Early Pleistocene, Greece. Paläont. Z. 78, 137–159 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03009135

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