Alces alces, Moose skull

Last crawled date: 7 years, 4 months ago

The facial region of moose Alces alces is highly divergent relative to other cervids and other ruminants. In particular, the narial region forms an expanded muzzle or proboscis that overhangs the mouth. The nose of moose provides a case study in the evolution of narial novelty within a phylogenetically well-resolved group (Cervidae). The function of the nasal apparatus of moose remains enigmatic, and new hypotheses are proposed based on our anatomical findings. Head specimens of moose and outgroup taxa were subjected to medical imaging (CT scanning), vascular injection, gross anatomical dissection, gross sectioning, and skeletonization.