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Most species have one basic antler design that varies little except by number of points. In my columns on antlers, I deliberately refrained from bringing up that moose have three distinct antler structures. See picture.
The cervicorn structure is the earliest and most primitive design and is the only antler design in the Manchurian moose of northeast China. The full palmicorn (or shell) design developed from the cervicorn structure and is the most dominant design in moose of West Siberia and Europe. The split-palm (or butterfly) design is a more recent form and is the dominant design from Outer Mongolia through East and Northeast Siberia and all of North America.
The cervicorn pattern is retained in moose ontogeny. Therefore any palmicorn moose population can produce individuals with cervicorn antlers. During the Minnesota moose hunts in the 1970’s we measured moose antlers and recorded the antler structure of moose taken by hunters. Cervicorn antlers were found on four percent of bulls.
The three basic designs of moose antlers. Pictures submitted by Bill Peterson
Editor’s note: The pictures of the antlers were left out of this column last week.
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