was once thought to be preserved in the Middle High German word , a large beast mentioned in the 13th-century Nibelungenlied along with the then-extant aurochs ( / "After this he straightway slew a Bison and an Elk, Of the strong Wild Oxen four, and a single fierce Schelch.") This opinion is no longer widely held. The Middle Irish word was also suggested as a reference to the Irish elk. Turf cutters of Clooney and Tulla in County Clare, Ireland referred to the Irish elk as the ( meaning Deer, meaning "great", or "large"). However, these interpretations are not conclusive. See also References Further reading (1995): Dance of the Tiger. University of California Press. . Kurten is a paleo-anthropologist, and in this novel, he presents a theory of Neanderthal extinction. Irish elk feature prominently, under the name shelk which Kurten coins (based on the aforementioned old German schelch) to avoid the problematic aspects of "Irish" and "elk" as discussed above. The book was first published in 1980 when "Giant Deer" was not yet being used widely. Zoological Science 22: 1031–1044 (2005). Larson, Edward J. (2004). Evolution: The Remarkable History of a Scientific Theory. External links Prehistoric deer Pleistocene even-toed ungulates Pleistocene mammals of Europe Pleistocene mammals of Asia Pleistocene first appearances Extinct animals of Ireland Extinct animals of Russia Extinct animals of China Holocene extinctions Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach