Junzi imperialis
| Junzi imperialis | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Junzi | ||||||||||||
| Turvey et al., 2018 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Junzi imperialis | ||||||||||||
| Turvey et al., 2018 |
Junzi imperialis is an extinct primate species fromthe gibbon family (Hylobatidae).
A partially preserved skull and lower jaw of the extinct gibbon species were discovered in 2004 in a 2200 to 2300 year old grave in Chang'an, Shaanxi Province . The tomb also contained the remains of various other animals, including skeletons of a leopard , lynx , collar bear , cranes , as well as various domesticated mammals and birds. The tomb can possibly be attributed to Xia, the mother of Zhuangxiang from the Qin dynasty and grandmother of Qin Shi Huang , the first emperor of China.
The gibbon species was first described in 2018 by Samuel Turvey and colleagues as Junzi imperialis . The morphometric comparison of the skull with skulls of the four recent gibbo genera ( Hoolock , Hylobates , Nomascus and Symphalangus ), as well as the extinct genus Bunopithecus and the differences found led to the introduction of a new genus.
Today there are four species of gibbon in southern China ( Western black crested gibbon ( Nomascus concolor ), Hainan crested gibbon ( N. hainanus ), eastern black crested gibbon ( N. nasutus ) and Hoolock tianxing ), two more, the northern white-cheeked gibbon ( Nomascus) leucogenys ) and the white-handed gibbon ( Hylobates lar ) only recently disappeared from the Chinese part of their range. The discovery of Junzi imperialis shows that gibbons were still widespread in historical times up to the northern edge of the subtropical forest zone and that a far greater biodiversity has been lost than was previously assumed.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Samuel T. Turvey, Kristoffer Bruun, Alejandra Ortiz, James Hansford, Songmei Hu, Yan Ding, Tianen Zhang, Helen J. Chatterjee: New genus of extinct Holocene gibbon associated with humans in Imperial China. In: Science . Volume 360, No. 6395, 2018, pp. 1346–1349, doi: 10.1126 / science.aao4903
- ^ Samuel T. Turvey, JJ Crees, MMI Di Fonzo: Historical data as a baseline for conservation: Reconstructing long-term faunal extinction dynamics in Late Imperial-modern China. Proc. R. Soc. B 282, 20151299 (2015). doi: 10.1098 / rspb.2015.1299pmid: 26246553