My word, what a majestic creature. Megaloceros always takes my breath away.

Each one of a male's antlers are almost as long as I am tall! Just imagine having to balance two Nigels on your head...

Although the suffix -ceras is commonly translated to "horn," deer like Megaloceros have antlers, not horns. The difference is that horns are covered by keratin sheaths, while antlers are pure bone.

The man who first described Megaloceros antlers mistook them for those of an elk and concluded that elk used to live in Ireland. This case of mistaken identity resulted in the name the "Irish elk," despite the fact Elks and Megaloceroes aren't even close cousins.