Hoplitomeryx - Species

Species

The Hoplitomeryx skeletal material forms a heterogeneous group, containing four size groups from tiny to huge; within the size groups different morphotypes may be present. All size groups share the same typical Hoplitomeryx features. The different size groups are equally distributed over the excavated fissures, and are therefore not to be considered chronotypes. The hypothesis of an archipelago consisting of different islands each with its own morphotype cannot be confirmed so far. The tiny and small specimens show insular dwarfism, but this cannot be said for the medium and huge specimens.

The situation with several co-existing morphotypes on an island is paralleled by Candiacervus (Pleistocene, Crete, Greece). Opinions about its taxonomy differ, and at present two models prevail: one genus for eight morphotypes, or alternatively, two genera for five species. The second model is based upon limb proportions only, but these are invalid taxonomic features for island endemics, as they change under influence of environmental factors that differ from the mainland. Also in Hoplitomeryx the morphotypes differ in limb proportions, but here different ancestors are unlikely, because in that case they all ancestors must have shared the typical hoplitomerycid features. Interestingly, in Candiacervus as well as in Hoplitomeryx, the largest species is as tall as an elk, but gracile and slender.

The large variation is instead explained as an example of adaptive radiation, starting when the Miocene ancestor colonized the island. The range of empty niches promoted its radiation into several trophic types, yielding a differentiation in Hoplitomeryx. The shared lack of large mammalian predators and the limited amount of food in all niches promoted the development of derived features in all size groups (apomorphies).