Praemegaceros fossil map
Where fossils of Praemegaceros have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 3.6–0.0117 million years ago (Piacenzian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Cervidae |
| Named by | Portis 1920 |
| Fossil records | 96 occurrences at 32 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Greece, Germany, Italy, France, Romania, Spain, Israel, Tajikistan, Syria, Georgia |
| Rock formations | txn:42652, 'Ubeidiya, Gerakarou, Latamne |
About Praemegaceros
Praemegaceros is an extinct genus of deer, known from the Pleistocene and Holocene of Western Eurasia. Praemegaceros is considered to be a genus of "giant deer", with many species having an estimated body mass of around 400 kilograms (880 lb), considerably larger than most living deer.
The genus contains the subgenera Praemegaceros, Orthogonoceros and Nesoleipoceros. It has sometimes been synonymised with Megaloceros and Megaceroides, but is regarded as a distinct genus by most studies. Some authors have considered the genus closely related to Megaloceros, but this has been disputed by others.
The earliest species like P. obscurus and P. verticornis appeared in Europe between 2 and 1.5 million years ago. The genus was widely distributed across Europe, West and Central Asia during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene, with fossils having been discovered in France, Georgia, Germany, England, Greece, Israel, Italy, Romania, Russia Spain, Syria, and Tajikistan. The genus was extinct in mainland Europe and Asia by end of the Middle Pleistocene. An insular species, P. cazioti survived into the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in isolation on the Sardinia-Corsica archipelago until around 5500 BCE (~7500 years ago).
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Praemegaceros (revision 1379890032), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q25095511.
