This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (August 2024) |
Lyra (meaning "harp") is an extinct genus of giraffid artiodactyl ungulates from the Miocene Chinji Formation of Pakistan. The genus contains a single species, L. sherkana, known from a partial skull and fragmentary ossicones. Lyra may be a member of the subfamily Sivatheriinae. If this classification is correct, it would represent the oldest known sivathere.[1]
| Lyra sherkana Temporal range: Middle Miocene,
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Giraffidae |
| Subfamily: | †Sivatheriinae (?) |
| Genus: | †Lyra Ríos & Solounias, 2024 |
| Species: | †L. sherkana
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Lyra sherkana Ríos & Solounias, 2024
| |
Discovery and naming
editThe Lyra fossil material was discovered in sediments of the Chinji Formation in the Siwalik Hills of Pakistan. The holotype specimen, YGSP 47357, was discovered in 1994 and comprises a partial skull, including the braincase, basicranium, occipital, and ossicones ("horn-like" structures in giraffids). Four additional ossicone fragments from other localities in the Chinji Formation were assigned to Lyra as paratypes.[1]
In 2024, Ríos & Solounias described Lyra sherkana as a new genus and species of giraffids based on these fossil remains. The generic name, "Lyra" references the lyre string instrument. This name was chosen after the similarity between the shape of the animal's ossicones and the instrument. The specific name, sherkana, honors Tanya Sher Khan, the discoverer of the holotype.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Rios, Maria; Solounias, Nikos (2024-08-05). "Lyra sherkhana [sic] gen. et sp. nov., a new genus and species of giraffid from the Miocene of the Siwaliks (Pakistan)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.2365423. ISSN 0272-4634.