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Lyra sherkana

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Lyra sherkana
Temporal range: Middle Miocene, 12.1–10.1 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this 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

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]

Discovery and naming

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The 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

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  1. ^ 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.