Cervidae
Species - Latest posts / Genres - Latest posts / Animals - Latest posts / Mammals The Cervidae first appear as fossils in the early Miocene of Asia, where they expanded into a wide variety of niches (and were thus able to dominate over the bovids which arrived later). During the Miocene, members of this family migrated to North America. After expanding in the Nearctic region, deer crossed to South America during the Pleistocene, when the Panama land bridge formed. Antlers are the defining characteristic of this family: all but one species (Hydropotes inermis) possess these cranial appendages, and they are found in no other animal. Unlike the headgear of other Pecorans, antlers are composed entirely of bone and often have elaborate branching patterns. The antlers grow from an extension (the "pedicel") on the skull's frontal bone, joining to the skull in a suture known as a burr. The sutures holding the antlers to the...