Welcome to Skull Sunday! Skull Sunday weekly Scicomm post detailing a particular animal species utilizing skulls! Today’s species is the European fallow deer (Dama dama). All pictures are taken by me unless otherwise stated.
European fallow deer are an Old World deer species in the subfamily Cervinae, which also includes chital, barasingha, red deer, and muntjacs. European fallow deer belong to the genus Dama, which also includes Persian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica, though some consider Persian fallow deer to be a subspecies of European fallow deer). Fallow deer are also considered to be the closest living relatives of the Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus).
European fallow deer are believed to be native to modern Turkey and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Their presence in Europe appears to have begun 8000-9000 years ago and is believed to be due to deliberate human introduction. They have been introduced to Australia, Argentina, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, and the US in modern times. The species is considered invasive in many of these countries.
European fallow deer, like most deer, are sexually dimorphic. Mature males are larger, more robust, and have large palmated antlers. This particular skull is from an adult female.
European fallow deer, like several species of deer, are primarily grazers. A majority of their diet consists of grasses, herbs, and low shrubs/branches. Fallow deer follow a typical deer dental formula of 0/3, 0-1/1, 3/3, 3/3. They do not have upper incisors and females do not always have upper canines. This skull is missing both upper third molars and displays partial resorption of the bone, which can occur if an animal or person loses teeth in life.
European fallow deer are considered to be Least Concern by the IUCN. The overall population trend is considered to be unknown. Introduced populations are not typically protected and hunting is, in several cases, encouraged due to the threat to native biodiversity that the species can possess. They are also farmed for meat and trophies, and several color variants exist today.
Thank you for tuning in to the second Skull Sunday! Check back next week for another installment with another species!
My new film scanner allowed this previously unprintable image to come to life. I am not a purist when it comes to analog or digital- I find that they work best together.
