Hoolock tianxing
| Hoolock tianxing | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hoolock tianxing | ||||||||||||
| Fan , He , Chen , Ortiz , Zhang , Zhao , Lio , Zhang , Kimock , Wang , Groves , Turvey , Roos , Helgen & Jiang , 2017 |
Tianxing hoolock or Skywalker Hulock is a gibbon that in Gaoligong Mountains in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan occurs, but possibly also in undisturbed forests in Myanmar between the rivers Irrawaddy and NMAI Hka the west and the Salween is widespread in the East. The species newly described in 2017 is classified as Endangered. In the Chinese part of the distribution area there are said to be fewer than 200 specimens, the number in Myanmar is unknown. The Hulock gibbons between Salween and Irrawaddy were previously assigned to the eastern white-browed gibbon ( Hoolock leuconedys ).
features
Adult males of Hoolock tianxing have a blackish back with a brownish tinge and a dark brown belly. They resemble the males of the Eastern white-browed gibbon and differ from the black-bellied males of the western white- browed gibbon ( Hoolock hoolock ). The white eyebrows are narrower than those of the other two white-browed gibbon species and even more clearly separated from each other than in the eastern white-browed gibbon. The western white-brow gibbon has only a very narrow gap between the eyebrows. In contrast to the eastern white- browed gibbon, Hoolock tianxing has no whitish hair below the eyes. The male's beard is not as distinct as that of the western white-browed gibbon and has the same color as the rest of the body, while the beard of the male eastern white-browed gibbon is white or light yellow-brown. The tuft of hair in the genital area is prominent and usually black, gray, or dark brown with some white hairs in it. It hardly contrasts with the color of the fur in the groin region. In older males, the tuft of hair takes on a more light brown color. Males of the eastern white-browed gibbon, on the other hand, have a conspicuous whitish tuft of hair in the genital area.
Adult females have a yellowish coat that changes from yellowish-white to reddish-blonde with age. The ring of white hair around the eyes, which is typical for female white-browed gibbons, is only incompletely pronounced. It is usually noticeably weaker than the eyebrows on the sides of the eyes and sometimes below the eyes. The females of the other two white-browed gibbon species, on the other hand, always have completely white circles under the eyes. In addition, Hoolock tianxing differs from the other two types of white- browed gibbon in its fourth premolar .
habitat
The southern part of the Gaoligong National Nature Reserve, the remaining habitat of Hoolock tianxing , is a rainy, cool, humid, evergreen mountain forest, which is characterized by laurel , beech , tea bush and magnolia plants . The measured temperatures fluctuate between 6 ° C in January and 20 ° C in August.
Systematics
The species was newly described in January 2017. "Skywalker hoolock gibbon" and "Gaoligong hoolock gibbon" were suggested as common English names . Both the specific epithet tianxing and the common English name "Skywalker hoolock gibbon" allude to the typical swinging movement ( brachiation ) of the gibbons in the branches of the trees. The holotype represents a fully grown male of whom only the skin is known. It was picked up in 1917 by Roy Chapman Andrews and Yvette Borup Andrews during an expedition of the American Museum of Natural History at the Ho-mu-shu (= Hongmushu) pass in Baoshan in the Chinese province of Yunnan , but the species does not come here today more before. According to genetic studies, the eastern white- browed gibbon is the sister species of Hoolock tianxing , and the two species are said to have been separated in the middle Pleistocene about 490,000 years ago.
literature
- Peng-Fei Fan, Kai He, Xing Chen, Alejandra Ortiz, Bin Zhang, Chao Zhao, Yun-Qiao Li, Hai-Bo Zhang, Clare Kimock, Wen-Zhi Wan, Colin Groves , Samuel T. Turvey, Christian Roos, Kristofer M. Helgen, Xue-Long Jiang: Description of a new species of Hoolock gibbon (Primates: Hylobatidae) based on integrative taxonomy. American Journal of Primatology, January 2017, DOI: 10.1002 / ajp.22631