thumb|Antler phylogenetics The fallow deer and the various subspecies of the reindeer have the largest as well as the heaviest antlers, both in absolute terms as well as in proportion to body mass (an average of eight grams per kilogram of body mass); the tufted deer, on the other hand, has the smallest antlers of all deer, while the pudú has the lightest antlers with respect to body mass (0.6 g per kilogram of body mass). The structure of antlers show considerable variation; while fallow deer and elk antlers are palmate (with a broad central portion), white-tailed deer antlers include a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam, and those of the pudú are mere spikes. Antler development begins from the pedicel, a bony structure that appears on the top of the skull by the time the animal is a year old. The pedicel gives rise to a spiky antler the following year, that is replaced by a branched antler in the third year. This process of losing a set of antlers to develop a larger and more branched set continues for the rest of the life. The antlers emerge as soft tissues (known as velvet antlers) and progressively harden into bony structures (known as hard antlers), following mineralisation and blockage of blood vessels in the tissue, from the tip to the base.
thumb|Antler phylogenetics The fallow deer and the various subspecies of the reindeer have the largest as well as the heaviest antlers both in absolute terms as well as in proportion to body mass (an average of eight grams per kilogram of body mass); the tufted deer on the other hand has the smallest antlers of all deer while the pudú has the lightest antlers with respect to body mass (06 g per kilogram of body mass) The structure of antlers show considerable variation; while fallow deer and elk antlers are palmate (with a broad central portion) white-tailed deer antlers include a series of tines sprouting upward from a forward-curving main beam and those of the pudú are mere spikes Antler development begins from the pedicel a bony structure that appears on the top of the skull by the time the animal is a year old The pedicel gives rise to a spiky antler the following year that is replaced by a branched antler in the third year This process of losing a set of antlers to develop a larger and more branched set continues for the rest of the life The antlers emerge as soft tissues (known as velvet antlers) and progressively harden into bony structures (known as hard antlers) following mineralisation and blockage of blood vessels in the tissue from the tip to the base