The intriguing giant deer from the Bate cave (Crete): could paleohistological evidence question its taxonomy and nomenclature?

作     者：Maria Rita PALOMBO Marco ZEDDA 

作者机构：CNR-IGAG c/o Department of Earth SciencesSapienza UniversityRomaItaly Department of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of SassariItaly 

出 版 物：《Integrative Zoology》 (整合动物学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2022年第17卷第1期

页      面：54-77页

核心收录：

学科分类：0710[理学-生物学] 07[理学] 0905[农学-畜牧学] 0906[农学-兽医学] 071002[理学-动物学] 

主　　题：Candiacervus major Cretan deer island rule paleohistology pituitary gigantism 

摘      要：The research describes for the first time a possible case of pituitary gigantism in fossil mammals,precisely in deer.The pathology was detected in 2 long bones(tibia and metatarsus)belonging to an individual of an unusual large size found at the Bate cave(Rethymnon,Northern Crete).It formed the basis of Candiacervus major,the largest among the endemic deer species recorded in the Pleistocene-Early Holocene of Crete.Radiological and histomorphological examinations highlighted a reduction in cortical bone thickness and the presence of wide lacunae inside of the bone tissue.The pathological conditions suggest a pituitary gigantism diagnosis also supported by some morphological evidence,such as the extremely elongated distal part of the metatarsal diaphysis,the proportionally small proximal epiphysis,and some bone gracility.The diagnosis of a case of pituitary gigantism as presumed responsible for the extraordinary elongation of the tibia and the metatarsal bone is intriguing as they are,respectively,the paratype and the holotype of the C.major.The species represents a case of a deviation from the“island rulein Pleistocene large mammals.The new evidence recommends a taxonomic and nomenclatural revision of this species.The main outcomes of this research are as follows:(i)a case of pituitary gigantism is described for the first time in an extinct mammal;(ii)it is underlined that paleohistology may provide interesting clues for disentangling taxonomic and nomenclatural issues;(iii)one of the very few cases of gigantism in insular mammals is being questioned.