The modern-day deer are modest survivors of a once much more diversified family of Cervidae represented by giant, dwarfed, mountain, and other peculiar species that occupied a wider range of ecological niches. The Pleistocene period, as evidenced by paleontological records, was a time of high ecological and evolutionary diversity among cervids. It provides insight into their phylogenetic relationships with modern deer and sheds light on the biogeographic features of the family Cervidae. The modern systematic diversity of the family Cervidae originated from the Late Miocene evolutionary radiation of the so-called crown deer and was largely shaped by paleogeographic transformations, climate changes, and dispersal events during the Pleistocene epoch. The Pleistocene extinction of cervids was a complex phenomenon that largely defines the modern biogeography and diversity of Cervidae. This chapter provides an overview of eco-evolutionary characteristics and phylogenetic relationships of Pleistocene cervids and a closer look at cervid extinctions resulting from complex interactions of limiting factors. Cervids are very flexible in their evolutionary and ecological adaptations and are capable of adapting to extreme environmental or geographical conditions. In biogeographic isolation, whether insular or continental, deer adapt quickly to the available ecological niches and attain a sort of evolutionary stasis, overcoming climate fluctuations caused by glaciation cycles due to their ecological flexibility. The extinctions caused by overspecialization are uncommon in cervids, as their ecological strategy of being opportunistic generalists is advantageous in the middle and high latitudes where the most extreme climate changes occurred during the Pleistocene. However, the low degree of specialization in ecological resource exploitation resulted in a large number of extinction events due to competitive exclusion when changing climates or geographical factors triggered the dispersal of new cervid species, which often outcompeted indigenous species. This was the most common cause of Pleistocene cervid extinctions in the western Palearctic, as well as in the Nearctic and other biogeographic realms. The extinctions of many endemic Pleistocene deer from southern South America are related to the vanishing of the entire biogeographic region due to the Patagonian Ice Sheet melting. The chapter explores the factors that influenced the extinction of cervids in the Pleistocene era and will provide understanding of their impact on modern-day cervid diversity and biogeography.

The Extinction of Quaternary Deer

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发表日期：

2025年

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Roman Croitor

摘要

The modern-day deer are modest survivors of a once much more diversified family of Cervidae represented by giant, dwarfed, mountain, and other peculiar species that occupied a wider range of ecological niches. The Pleistocene period, as evidenced by paleontological records, was a time of high ecological and evolutionary diversity among cervids. It provides insight into their phylogenetic relationships with modern deer and sheds light on the biogeographic features of the family Cervidae. The modern systematic diversity of the family Cervidae originated from the Late Miocene evolutionary radiation of the so-called crown deer and was largely shaped by paleogeographic transformations, climate changes, and dispersal events during the Pleistocene epoch. The Pleistocene extinction of cervids was a complex phenomenon that largely defines the modern biogeography and diversity of Cervidae. This chapter provides an overview of eco-evolutionary characteristics and phylogenetic relationships of Pleistocene cervids and a closer look at cervid extinctions resulting from complex interactions of limiting factors. Cervids are very flexible in their evolutionary and ecological adaptations and are capable of adapting to extreme environmental or geographical conditions. In biogeographic isolation, whether insular or continental, deer adapt quickly to the available ecological niches and attain a sort of evolutionary stasis, overcoming climate fluctuations caused by glaciation cycles due to their ecological flexibility. The extinctions caused by overspecialization are uncommon in cervids, as their ecological strategy of being opportunistic generalists is advantageous in the middle and high latitudes where the most extreme climate changes occurred during the Pleistocene. However, the low degree of specialization in ecological resource exploitation resulted in a large number of extinction events due to competitive exclusion when changing climates or geographical factors triggered the dispersal of new cervid species, which often outcompeted indigenous species. This was the most common cause of Pleistocene cervid extinctions in the western Palearctic, as well as in the Nearctic and other biogeographic realms. The extinctions of many endemic Pleistocene deer from southern South America are related to the vanishing of the entire biogeographic region due to the Patagonian Ice Sheet melting. The chapter explores the factors that influenced the extinction of cervids in the Pleistocene era and will provide understanding of their impact on modern-day cervid diversity and biogeography.