Megaloceros giganteus (Irish Elk) Tapestry

Megaloceros giganteus otherwise known as the Irish Elk, one of the largest deer species in the fossil record. Measuring 6.9 feet, with the largest antlers of any deer species, measuring 12 feet in width. Despite it’s name it was not exclusively native to Ireland, nor was it actually an elk. Most of the best and most complete specimens were found in Ireland, with some of the antlers winding up on the walls in medieval castles. Megaloceros lived during the Middle pleistocene to the early holocene 0.781 – 0.008 million years ago.