The constellation introduced by Johannes Hevelius as the lynx is Lynx.
Hevelius formed Lynx in 1687 from 19 relatively faint stars occupying a gap between Ursa Major and Auriga. The area had previously included stars in the now-obsolete constellation Jordanus Fluvius. He chose the animal’s name partly as a challenge: the faint pattern would require “lynx-like” eyesight to recognize.
Lynx was included in Hevelius’s star atlas, Firmamentum Sobiescianum, published in 1690. He also used Tigris, meaning “tiger,” in one catalog, but Lynx became the lasting name. English astronomer John Flamsteed later adopted the constellation in his catalog and atlas, helping establish it in Western astronomy.
Lynx is a modern IAU constellation in the northern sky, bordered by Ursa Major, Camelopardalis, Auriga, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Leo Minor. It is easy to confuse with Leo Minor because both are faint northern constellations near Leo, but they are separate. Lynx’s brightest star is Alpha Lyncis, and its official abbreviation is Lyn.