Bulletin of the Natural History Museum - Plovdiv Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Plovdiv, 2019, vol. 4: 27-31 Fossil record of the Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799)) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Bulgaria Zlatozar N. Boev* National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Blvd. Tsar Osvoboditel, 1000 Sofia, BULGARIA *Corresponding author: [email protected]; [email protected] Abstract. The study summarizes all scattered data on the former distribution of the Irish elk in Bulgaria, some of them unpublished till now. The seven known sites are located mainly in the northwestern part of the country at 40 to 400 m a. s. in the Lower Danube Plain. The chronostratigraphical distribution covers Middle Pleistocene (Upper Biharian) to Late Pleistocene (Epigravettian). Key words: Extinct large mammals, Bulgarian Pleistocene megafauna, Cervids, Pleistocene. Introduction remains of the giant deer in “Burgas Region” Although considered one of the symbolic without concrete locality. species of the European Pleistocene terrestrial Present study aims to gather all scattered megafauna, the remains of the Irish Elk data on the distribution of the Irish elk (some (Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799)) of which published in less accessible and poorly everywhere were not numerous, but its former known sources in the past), and to summarize distribution covered a vast parts of Eurasia. In all the available information on its distribution the Pleistocene glacials the range of this throughout the country. Such a study is impressive mammal (Fig. 1) reached Balkan important as the territory of Bulgaria lies on the Peninsula and the northern parts of present-day southernmost limit of the species’ range. territory of Bulgaria. Its range was spread from the British Isles and Germany to Italy, Crimea, Material and Methods Caucasus, and Southern Siberia (GROMOV & We tried to gather all scattered data BARANOV 1981). Chronostratigraphical (published and unpublished) on the Irish Elk distribution after GROMOV & BARANOVA remains (bones, teeth) on the present day (1981) was confined to Middle – Late territory of Bulgaria. For each site (locality) we Pleistocene, but recent studies found that present as much as possible complete data on species survived in the Latest Pleistocene and the age, type and number of finds, years and Holocene, even 7 700 BP (STUART et al. 2004) leaders of the excavations and the reference of in Western Siberia. the original published information. Unfortunately, the first mentions of the Irish Elk in Bulgaria are unprecise. They only Middle Pleistocene record stated that the species’ remains were found in 1. Varbeshnitsa some sites of the country, mostly in caves (N. Prof. Nikolay Spassov (NMNHS-BAS) in 1993 1931). The same way even more than a half of collected some teeth of a large cervid, identified as century later, APOSTOLOV (1985) noted about Megaloceros sp. (N. SPASSOV, unpubl. data). POPOV © Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Plovdiv Regional Natural History Museum – Plovdiv http://rnhm.org/en/ University of Plovdiv Publishing House Fossil record of the Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799)) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Bulgaria (1988) dated this locality, based on micromammalian several single teeth and a metacarpus” (p. 108). fauna as Middle Pleistocene - upper part of The author concluded that all they could not Nagyharsanyhegy phase of Upper Biharian. belong to Cervus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 and Rangifer tarandus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Late Pleistocene record suggests Cervus euryceros (i. e. Megaloceros 2. Kozarnika Cave euryceros Aldrovandi-Brookes, 1827) because GUADELLI et al. (1999, 2005), FERNANDEZ of their larger dimensions. (2009) and SIRAKOV et al. (2010) reported on 6 LAVILLE et al. (1994) and BERON et al. species’ finds, collected in the cave. They were (2006) listed Irish Elk among the fossils form dated 26 000 BP. (Table 1). the cave without reference and more concrete data. GUADELLI & DELPECH (2000) identified 3. Mishin Kamik Cave 3 finds (metatarsus, metacarpus and os This is the newest site of Megaloceros, capitotrapezoides) as “Megaloceros sp./Alces”. uncovered in 2015. The unspecified finds are listed as Megaloceros sp. (GUROVA et al., 2016). The site 7. Bacho Kiro Cave is located in the region of some of the previous BERON et al. (2006) listed Irish Elk among the sites of the Irish Elk and once again confirms it fossils form the cave without any reference or more distribution in the north-western part of the concrete data. Indeed, GARROD et al. (1939) country. One of the species bone remains (an reported the finding of Cervus euryceros, that is, astragalus) was split longitudinally by man M. giganteus, from the archaeological excavations (GUROVA et al., 2017). in 1938 at the Bacho Kiro cave by a team of an American expedition. The remains are several teeth 4. Muselievo and a fragment of the right mandible. The only find was excavated in 1977 in a KOWALSKI et al. (1982) report on 12 finds landslide on the right bank of the Osam River of the Irish Elk of 4 layers from the Late in the Vamata locality (SPASSOV, 1982) near Pleistocene deposits of the cave, among them a Muselievo village (Pleven Region) (Fig. 1). maxilla with complete left tooth-row (PS-M3) and incomplete right row (P3-M3). Fig. 1. Megaloceros giganteus – a reconstruction. Drawing: Zlatozar Z. Boev. 5. Magura Cave Fig. 2. Megaloceros giganteus – partial skull IVANOVA et al. (2016) published data on 2 with antlers. Late Pleistocene, Muselievo. bone fragments (metapodial and maxillar) from Exhibition of the National Museum of Natural lyaers 25 and 4 respectively, i. e. Over 50 200 History, BAS, 27.07.2019. Photo: Z. Boev. BP and 32,750 ± 500 BP. Discussion and Conclusions 6. Temnata Doupka Cave POPOV (1931) found “several fragments of The finds of the Irish Elk from Bulgaria antlers, maxillar and mandibular fragments, proved the species occurrence in the Middle 28 Zlatozar N. Boev and the late Pleistocene throughout the The altitudinal distribution of the species in country. Our data confirmed its distribution Bulgaria is 40 to 400 m a. s. l., i. e. lowland plains only in the Lower Danube Plain and the Fore- and lower hilly terrains. At the periphery of its Balkan in the Northern Bulgaria. No records range, in Bulgaria the Irish Elk roamed across the are found south of the Balkan Range (Stara vast openland mostly plain landscape. Planina Mountain) (Fig. 3). As seen, most of The chronostratigraphical distribution covers the species’ localities are concentrated in the Middle Pleistocene (Upper Biharian) to Late north-western quarter of the country. Pleistocene (Epigravettian), i. e. 1.0 – 0.08 Ma. Fig. 3. Distribution of Megaloceros giganteus in Bulgaria after its fossil record: Middle Pleistocene: Varbesnitsa (1); Late Pleistocene: Kozarnika (Suhi Pech) Cave (2); Mishin Lamik Cave (3); Temnata Dupka Cave (4); Magura Cave (5); Muselievo (6); Bacho Kiro Cave (7). Table 1. Localities, finds and age of the fossil record of the Irish Elk in Bulgaria. Altitude Years and Type and number of No Locality Province a. s. l. Age leaders of Reference finds (m) excavations 1. Varbesnitsa Near 370 Middle several teeth Nikolay POPOV (1988); Varbeshnitsa Pleistocene - Spassov, N. SPASSOV v. (Vratsa P.) Upper Biharian 1993 (unpubl. data) 2. Kozarnika Near town of 375 Late Pleistocene, 1 metatarsus dist., 5 Nikolay GUADELLI et (Suhi Pech) Belogradchik MNQ 18-26 unspecified finds Sirakov, J.-L. al. (1999, Cave (Vidin P.) (end of Saalian, Guadelli, 2005); Eemian and 1996-2005 FERNANDEZ Weischelian) (2009); SIRAKOV et al. (2010) 29 Fossil record of the Irish Elk (Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799)) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Bulgaria 3. Mishin Kamik Near Gorna 400 135 000 – 1 astragalus; 2015-2018 GUROVA et al. Cave Luka village 85 000 Late unspecified finds (2016,2017, (Montana P.) Pleistocene 2018) 4. Temnata Near 250 Late Pleistocene, several fragments of Rafail Popov, POPOV (1931); Dupka Cave Karlukovo v. Epigravettian, antlers, maxillar and 1938; POPOV (1994); (Lovech P.) (31900-13600 В. mandibular fragments, Nikolay LAVILLE Р.) several single teeth, 1 Sirakov, 1982 (1994); metacarpus BERON et al. (2006); 5. Magura Cave Near Rabisha 371 Late Pleistocene, 1 metapode fragment, Stefka IVANOVA et al. v., (Vidin P.) over 50 200 BP 1 maxilla fragment Ivanova, (2016) and 32,750 ± 2011-2012 500 BP 6. Muselievo Near 40 Late Pleistocene 1 cranial fragment with 1977 SPASSOV Muselievo v. left antler (1982) (Pleven P.) 7. Bacho Kiro Near town of 335 Late Pleistocene, P4, 2 M1 or M2; 1971-1975, KOWALSKI & Cave Dryanovo Middle to Late fragment of M1 or M2; B. Ginter, NADACHOWSKI (Gabrovo P.) Paleolithic, P4, M1; J. Kozlowski (1982); 70 000 – 20 000 maxilla with a full left BERON et al. B. P. set of teeth (P3-M3) and (2006) an incomplete right set (P3-M3), fragment of right mandible with M1-M2, P2, fragment of an upper molar; M1 or M2, M1 or M2. Acknowledgements (Pliocene – present). Nauka Publ. House, The author thanks Prof. Nikolay Spassov Leningrad, 456 p. (In Russian). for the provided unpublished data on the finds GUADELLI J.-L., SIRAKOV N., IVANOVA ST., from Varbeshnitsa. 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