2 PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIA. 



other early writers have assigned Megaceros antlers, for both Pallas (7) and Buffon 

 adopted the view that they were those of Reindeer. 



The earliest Continental record is that of L. D. Hermann (1731) (4), who, as Cuvier 

 reports, gives poor figures of remains from Massel in Silesia. Camper (1784) (10) 

 was the first to point out differences not only between the antlers, but the skeleton 

 of Irish Deer and Elk. Other early continental writers on the subject are von Rochow 

 (1781) (8) and de Razoumowsky (1789) (11). 



Parkinson (1811) (12), mentioned a number of localities where remains of the Giant 

 Deer were found, and alluded to the antlers from co. Clare presented to Charles II 

 and now at Hampton Court. 



Goldfuss (1821) (13) issued a full description of the skull with measurements, and 

 again compared it with that of the Elk ; Cuvier (1826) (15) also gave a general descrip- 

 tion of the skull, his account being based on an example found in the Isle of Man 

 and now in the Edinburgh Museum. . He further showed clearly that the Giant Deer 

 was widely distributed on the European continent. Desmarest (1822) (14) also 

 contrasted the skull and antlers with those of the Elk. The remains of the Irish 

 Giant Deer were described by Oswald (17) and Hibbert (18) from the Isle of Man 

 as early as 1825. 



The active study of the remains in Ireland itself was inaugurated by J. Hart 

 (1825) (16), who set up in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society 1 a skeleton from 

 Rathcannon, co. Limerick, comparing it in great detail with that of the Elk. He 

 first used the name Cervus megaceros. A second paper published in 1838 dealt with 

 the method of occurrence of the Giant Deer, but was chiefly concerned with describing 

 the anatomical characters. Weaver (1825) (19) recorded the finding at Dundrum, 

 co. Down, of Megaceros remains associated with recent shells, whence he drew con- 

 clusions as to the modern character of the deposit. Several general questions relative 

 to the Irish Giant Deer, such as the growth of the antlers, the question as to its 

 contemporaneity with man and the conditions under which skeletons were found, 

 were now attracting attention, and some of these subjects are dealt with in a paper 

 by Scouler (1838) (24). 



The fact that the nearest relative of the Giant Deer is the Fallow Deer was first 

 recognized by Hamilton Smith (1827) (20), who in his classification of Deer grouped 

 the two together in the subgenus Dama. 



Hitherto such authors as had considered the subject were inclined to believe 

 that the female Giant Deer, like the female Reindeer, was provided with antlers. 

 Phillips (1836) (22), however, from an examination of a collection of bones found 

 near Waterford, was able to show that the female was without antlers. 



The contemporaneity of Megaceros with Man was maintained by H. D. Richardson 

 (1846) (31), who stressed the incorrectness of styling the Megaceros the Irish Elk. 



1 The collections of the Royal Dublin Society and of the Royal Irish Academy have been 

 incorporated in the National Museum of Ireland. 



