''Ptolemaia'' is a genus of extinct

Afrotheria Afrotheria ( from Latin ''Afro-'' "of Africa" + ''theria'' "wild beast") is a clade of mammals, the living members of which belong to groups that are either currently living in Africa or of African origin: golden moles, elephant shrews (also k ...

n mammals from the Oligocene of East Africa. The genus and type species, ''P. lyonsi'', was described by

Henry Fairfield Osborn Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sr. (August 8, 1857 – November 6, 1935) was an American paleontologist, geologist and eugenics advocate. He was the president of the American Museum of Natural History for 25 years and a cofounder of the American Euge ...

in 1908 from the

Jebel Qatrani Formation The Jebel Qatrani Formation (also Gebel Qatrani) is a palaeontological and geologic formation located in the Faiyum Governorate of central Egypt. Conformably overlying the Qasr el Sagha Formation. It is exposed namely between the Jebel Qatrani ...

of Egypts' Fayum Depression. The genus name alludes to the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Greece which ruled over the Egyptian region where ''Ptolemaia'' was discovered, while the specific epithet ''lyonsi'' honors H. G. Lyons, then director of the Egyptian Geological Survey. A second species, ''P. grangeri'', was described in 1987, and named after the early 20th century paleontologist Walter W. Granger. Fossils of ''P. grangeri'' are also known from Kenya.

References

Oligocene mammals of Africa Ptolemaiidans Fossil taxa described in 1908 Prehistoric placental genera {{Paleo-afrotheria-stub