Candiacervus

Candiacervus is a genus of deer native to Pleistocene Crete.[1] Their most notable feature, besides their peculiar, spatula-shaped antlers, was their small stature: the smallest species, C. ropalophorus, stood about 40 cm at the shoulders when fully grown, as can be inferred from a mounted skeleton.[2] As such, the genus is considered to be a textbook example of insular dwarfism.[3] Other features are the relatively short limbs, the massivity of the bones and the simplified antler.[4]

They were closely related to the giant Irish elk, with some experts regarding Candiacervus as a subgenus of Megaloceros.[5]