Morphology, chemical composition, mechanical properties and structure in antler of Sardinian red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus)

The deer population present in Sardinia and Corsica represents an endemic subspecies Cervus elaphus corsicanus. We describe for the first time the characteristics of cast antlers of Sardinian red deer from the forest complex Sette Fratelli, south-east part of the island. Moreover, we describe the material mechanical properties, the structural ones, and the mineral profile of antlers from adults, comparing them with the antler characteristics of the subspecies C. e. hispanicus examined exactly with the same methodology. Sixty-one deer casted antlers were collected and classified as belonging to adults (35) or sub-adults (26). A first part of the study described the common features of the antlers of sub-species C. e. corsicanus through the analysis of morphology in all deer antlers. Subsequently, a more detailed study used 12 adult deer antlers for a destructive analysis. Statistical comparisons were conducted using ANOVAs between characteristics of the two age subgroups, and using Pearson's correlation coefficients between the antlers morphological variables. In general, morphological antler measures had greater values in adults than in sub-adults. In comparison with Iberian deer, Sardinian adult antlers have a more simple structure with lower values in morphological features, mechanical properties and structural characteristics.