Nalameryx is an extinct genus of tragulid which existed in lower Chitarwata Formation, Pakistan during the middle Oligocene.[1] It was first named by Grégoire Métais, Jean-Loup Welcomme and Stéphane Ducrocq in 2009 and the type species is Nalameryx savagei.[1][2] Nalameryx savagei is one of the rare mammals found during the Oligocene. Five dental remains composed the originally found material, described in 1990.[2]

Nalameryx
Temporal range: Middle Oligocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Tragulidae
Genus: Nalameryx
Métais et al., 2009
Species
  • N. savagei Nanda & Sahni, 1990 (type)
  • N. sulaimani Métais et al., 2009
Synonyms

Iberomeryx savagei

The first phylogenetic hypothesis proposed Nalameryx to be closely related to the basal ruminant Lophiomerycidae. The description of new specimens from the type bed K/7b from the Kargil Formation (late Oligocene, India), led to a reinterpretation of the phylogenetic position of Nalameryx and of the early evolutionary history of the Tragulidae. Based on the phylogenetic hypothesis, Nalameryx is nested within the living Tragulidae, making it one of the oldest known tragulid.[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b Grégoire Métais; Jean-Loup Welcomme; Stéphane Ducrocq (2009). "New Lophiomerycid Ruminants from the Oligocene of the Bugti Hills (Balochistan, Pakistan)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (1): 231–241. doi:10.1671/039.029.0115. S2CID 129509229.
  2. ^ a b Nanda, A. C.; A. Sahni (1990). "Oligocene vertebrates from the Ladakh Molasse Group, Ladakh Himalaya: palaeogeographic implications". Journal of Himalayan Geology. 1: 1–10.
  3. ^ Mennecart, B., Wazir, W.A., Sehgal, R.K., Patnaik, R., Singh, N.P., Kumar, N. and Nanda, A.C., 2021. New remains of Nalamaeryx (Tragulidae, Mammalia) from the Ladakh Himalaya and their phylogenetical and palaeoenvironmental implications. Historical Biology, pp.1-9.https://doi.org/10.1080/08912963.2021.2014479