Junzi imperialis

Junzi imperialis is an extinct species of gibbon that was found in an Ancient Chinese noblewoman's tomb. The type species, based on an incomplete skull, was named Junzi imperialis in 2018 by Samuel Turvey and colleagues.[1] It is believed that when alive, around 2,200 to 2,300 years ago, the type specimen was owned by Lady Xia, the mother of King Zhuangxiang of Qin and grandmother of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.[2]

Junzi imperialis
Temporal range: Holocene, 0.0023–0.0022 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hylobatidae
Genus: †Junzi
Turvey et al., 2018
Species:
†J. imperialis
Binomial name
†Junzi imperialis
Turvey et al., 2018

Discovery and naming

The holotype skull was discovered when the tomb was opened in 2004. The living animal is thought to have been a member of Lady Xia's menagerie of luxury pets, which also included cranes,[2] leopards, lynxes and a black bear.[3]

The generic name was coined by Turvey and his colleagues in reference to how gibbons were, in ancient China, kept by noblemen scholars, or junzi (君子), as pets.[2]

References
  1. Samuel T. Turvey; Kristoffer Bruun; Alejandra Ortiz; James Hansford; Songmei Hu; Yan Ding; Tianen Zhang; Helen J. Chatterjee (2018). "New genus of extinct Holocene gibbon associated with humans in Imperial China" (PDF). Science. 360 (6395): 1346–1349. doi:10.1126/science.aao4903. PMID 29930136.
  2. Gabbatiss, Josh. "New species of extinct ape discovered in tomb of ancient Chinese noblewoman". The Independent. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
  3. Briggs, Helen. "Mystery extinct ape found in ancient Chinese tomb". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
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