Editing Moose (section)

== Evolutionary history ==
[[File:Libracles gallicus.JPG|thumb|An artist's rendition of ''[[Libralces|Libralces gallicus]]'']]
[[File:Cervalces latifrons Tubingen.JPG|thumb|Antlers of ''[[Cervalces latifrons]]'']]
[[File:Cervalces scotti - MUSE.JPG|thumb|Replica of an American [[Stag moose|stag-moose]] skeleton]]

Moose are members of the subfamily [[Capreolinae]]. Members of the moose lineage extend back into the [[Pliocene]]-[[Early Pleistocene]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Breda |first1=Marzia |last2=Marchetti |first2=Marco |date=March 2005 |title=Systematical and biochronological review of Plio-Pleistocene Alceini (Cervidae; Mammalia) from Eurasia |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379104001593 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |language=en |volume=24 |issue=5–6 |pages=775–805 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.05.005 |bibcode=2005QSRv...24..775B |access-date=2023-06-15 |archive-date=2022-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016233907/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0277379104001593 |url-status=live }}</ref> Some scientists group the moose and all its extinct relatives into one genus, ''Alces<ref name=":3" />'', while others, such as Augusto Azzaroli, restrict ''Alces'' to the living species, placing the fossil species into the genera ''[[Cervalces]]'' (stag moose) and ''Libralces''.<ref name=":2" />

The earliest known species in the moose lineage is ''[[Libralces|Libralces gallicus]]'', which lived in the [[Pliocene]]-[[Early Pleistocene]].<ref name=":2" /> ''Libralces gallicus'' came from the warm savannas of Pliocene Europe, with the best-preserved skeletons being found in southern France. ''L. gallicus'' was 1.25 times larger than the Alaskan moose in linear dimensions, making it nearly twice as massive. ''L. gallicus'' had many striking differences from its modern descendants. It had a longer, narrower snout and a less-developed nasal cavity, more resembling that of a modern deer, lacking any sign of the modern moose-snout. Its face resembled that of the modern [[wapiti]]. However, the rest of its skull structure, skeletal structure and teeth bore strong resemblance to those features that are unmistakable in modern moose, indicating a similar diet. Its antlers consisted of a horizontal bar {{convert|2.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}} long, with no tines, ending in small palmations. Its skull and neck structure suggest an animal that fought using high-speed impacts, much like the [[Dall sheep]], rather than locking and twisting antlers the way modern moose combat. Their long legs and bone structure suggest an animal that was adapted to running at high speeds over rough terrain.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Deer of the world: their evolution, behaviour, and ecology'' By Valerius Geist - Page 244-250</ref><ref name="North America' Page 178-181">''Morphological Change in Quaternary Mammals of North America'' by Robert Allen Martin, [[Anthony David Barnosky|Anthony D. Barnosky]] - Cambridge University Press 1993 Page 178-181</ref>

''Libralces gallicus'' was followed by ''[[Cervalces carnutorum]]'' during the first half of the [[Early Pleistocene]]. ''Cervalces carnutorum'' was soon followed by a much larger species called ''[[Cervalces latifrons]]'' (broad-fronted stag-moose), which first appeared during the late Early Pleistocene.<ref name="Kevrekidis2017">{{cite web |author=Charalampos Kevrekidis, Dimitris S. Kostopoulos |date=March 2017 |title=The southernmost occurrence of Cervalces latifrons (Johnson, 1874) (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Europe |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315743837 |doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.24751.53928 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Many fossils of ''Cervalces latifrons'' have been found across Eurasia. Like its descendants, it inhabited mostly northern latitudes, and was probably well-adapted to the cold. ''C. latifrons'' was the largest deer known to have ever existed, standing more than {{convert|2.1|m|ftin|abbr=on}} tall at the shoulders. This is bigger than even the [[Irish elk]], which was {{convert|1.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}} tall at the shoulders. Its antlers were smaller than the Irish elk's, but comparable in size to those of ''L. gallicus''. However, the antlers had a shorter horizontal bar and larger palmations, more resembling those of a modern moose.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="North America' Page 178-181" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/evolution/cervalces-latifrons/index.html |title=Cervalces latifrons &#124; Natural History Museum |publisher=Nhm.ac.uk |access-date=November 9, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102202806/http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/evolution/cervalces-latifrons/index.html |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> Probably sometime in the [[Middle Pleistocene]], ''Cervalces latifrons'' migrated into North America, giving rise to the stag moose (''[[Cervalces scotti]]'').<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last1=Niedziałkowska |first1=Magdalena |date=2020 |pages=1–32 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-65038-8_23-1 |isbn=978-3-319-65038-8 |last2=Neumann |first2=Wiebke |last3=Borowik |first3=Tomasz |last4=Kołodziej-Sobocińska |first4=Marta |last5=Malmsten |first5=Jonas |last6=Arnemo |first6=Jon M. |last7=Ericsson |first7=Göran |title=Handbook of the Mammals of Europe |chapter=Moose Alces alces (Linnaeus, 1758) |editor2-last=Zachos |editor2-first=Frank E.}}</ref> The modern moose is thought to have evolved from ''Cervalces latifrons'' at around the end of the [[Middle Pleistocene]] to the beginning of the [[Late Pleistocene]], probably somewhere in East Asia, with the earliest fossils of the species in Europe dating to the early Late Pleistocene. The modern moose only arrived in North America around 15,000 years ago, at the end of the Late Pleistocene.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Meiri |first1=Meirav |last2=Lister |first2=Adrian |last3=Kosintsev |first3=Pavel |last4=Zazula |first4=Grant |last5=Barnes |first5=Ian |date=October 2020 |title=Population dynamics and range shifts of moose ( Alces alces ) during the Late Quaternary |journal=Journal of Biogeography |language=en |volume=47 |issue=10 |pages=2223–2234 |doi=10.1111/jbi.13935 |s2cid=225467866 |issn=0305-0270|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020JBiog..47.2223M }}</ref>