Antler conformation in red deer of the Mesola Wood, northern Italy

Red deer Ceruus elaphus Linnaeus, 1758 stags from the Mesola Wood (northern Italy) are known for the very simplified structure of their antlers. An analysts was made of 180 sets of cranial appendages on 41 different individuals observed over 10 years, Considering only stags 5 years and older, the mean number of tines per antler pair was 5.36. The maximum number of tines per beam was invariably 4: the bez tine and the crown were always absent. Yearlings and subadults exhibited scarcely developed cranial appendages, with a high incidence of knobbers and spikers respect­ively. While the poor performance of young classes may be mainly due to malnutrition, in adult stags a genetic component may prevail over dietary factors: selective shooting, inbreeding and genetic drift could have fixed the already simple design of their antlers.