Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Rapid dwarfing of red deer on Jersey in the Last Interglacial

Abstract

THE dwarfing of large mammals on islands occurred repeatedly in the Pleistocene. Elephants, deer, hippopotami and other species became dwarfed on islands in Indonesia, the Mediterranean, the east Pacific and elsewhere1,2. In most cases, the full-sized ancestral form can be recognized among the adjacent mainland fauna, but evolutionary rates cannot be estimated because the entry of the ancestor onto the island, and appearance of the dwarf form, are poorly dated. Here I give the first example in which the island dwarf is well dated, the full-sized ancestor is found in demonstrably older deposits on the island, and a good estimate can be made for the duration of the isolation leading to dwarfing. In the Last Interglacial, red deer on Jersey, Channel Islands, became reduced to one sixth of their body weight in less than six thousand years.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Sondaar, P. Y. in Major Patterns in Vertebrate Evolution (eds Hecht, M. K., Goody, P. C. & Hecht, B. M.) 671–707 (Plenum, New York, 1977).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  2. Roth, V. L. thesis, Yale Univ., 1982.

  3. Zeuner, F. E. Bull. Soc. Jerseiaise 14, 238–254 (1946).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Lister, A. M. J. Arch. Sc. 13, 319–338 (1986).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Keen, D. H., Harmon, R. S. & Andrews, J. T. Nature 289, 162–164 (1981).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Keen, D. H. Bull. Ass. Fr. Et. Quat.) 19/9 (1982-1), 3–11 (1982).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Scott, K. M. in Biology and Management of the Cervidae (ed. Wemmer, C. M.) 65–80 (Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1987).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Fortelius, M. Acta zool. fenn. 180, 1–76 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Azzaroli, A. Palaeontol. ital. 56, 1–32 (1961).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Scott, K. in La Cotte de St Brelade 1961-1978 (eds Callow, P. & Cornford, J. M.) 159–183 (Geo Books, Norwich, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Callow, P. in La Cotte de St. Brelade 1961-1978 (eds Callow, P. & Cornford, J. M.) 73–82 (Geo Books, Norwich, 1986).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Admiralty Chart No. 2669 The Channel Islands and Adjacent Coast of France (Hydrographer of the Navy, Taunton, 1989).

  13. West, R. G. & Sparks, B. W. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 243, 95–133 (1960).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. West, R. G. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A 272, 87–98 (1972).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Zagwijn W. H. Geol. Mijnbouw. 62, 437–450 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Chappell, J. & Shackleton, N. J. Nature 324, 137–140 (1986).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Shackleton, N. J. Quat. Sci. Rev. 6, 183–190 (1987).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Shackleton, N. J. & Pisias, N. G. Geophys. Monogr. 32, 303–317 (1985).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Mueller, H. Geol. Jb. A21, 149–169 (1974).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Zagwijn, W. H. Meded. Geol. Sticht. 14, 15–45 (1961).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Suttie, J. M. Proc. 2nd Intl Reindeer/Caribou Symp. (eds Reimers, C., Gaare, E. & Skjenneberg, S.) 341–349 (Direktoratet for Vilt og Ferskvannsfisk, Trondheim, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Heaney, L. R. Evolution 32, 29–44 (1978).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Lister, A. M. Proc. R. Soc. Edinb. 82B, 205–229 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Bouchud, J. Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. nat. Lyon 16, 9–39 (1978).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Phillips, L. New Phytol. 73, 589–604 (1974).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Stuart, A. J. Pleistocene Vertebrates in the British Isles (Longman, London, 1982).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Lister, A. M. in Excavations at Hoxne 1972-1978 (eds Singer, R., Wymer, J. J. & Gladfelter, B.) (University of Chicago Press, in the press).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lister, A. Rapid dwarfing of red deer on Jersey in the Last Interglacial. Nature 342, 539–542 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/342539a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/342539a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing