- Who
- broad-fronted moose Cervalces latifrons
- What
- 2.5 metre(s)
- Where
- Russian Federation ()
- When
The largest deer of all time was the broad-fronted stag moose (Cervalces latifrons), which roamed across northern Eurasia from the UK to northern Siberia between the late Early and Middle Pleistocene, 1.5–0.21 million years ago. The upper foot bone alone, which is about 25% more massive than that of a modern moose (Alces alces, today's largest deer), supported an animal that could exceed 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in shoulder height and weigh between 900 and 1,200 kg (1,980–2,645 lb). Overall, it was around the same size as a modern American bison. The antlers of the broad-fronted stag moose, as indicated by some spectacular fossil specimens discovered in Germany, may have reached a total breadth of 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) across, tip-to-tip. For comparison, a large bull moose today can attain shoulder height up to 2.1 m (6 ft 10.6 in), and weigh over 630 kg (1,340 lb).
In North America, a slightly smaller species of stag moose, C. scotti, roamed from Alaska, southern Canada and midwestern USA.
It's likely that C. latifrons probably only slightly exceeded the famous giant deer or Irisk elk (Megaloceros giganteus) in height, but may have weighed about twice as much. The Irish elk bore larger antlers, though – up to 3.6 m (11 ft 9.7 in) across.
