Skywalker hoolock gibbon
| Skywalker hoolock gibbon | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Hylobatidae |
| Genus: | Hoolock |
| Species: | H. tianxing |
| Binomial name | |
| Hoolock tianxing Fan & al., 2017 [1] | |
The Skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing) is a primate from the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon.[2] The species was first described in January 2017, in the American Journal of Primatology.
Etymology
The species is named after Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise, as its discoverers were fans of the films.[3] The scientific species name tianxing is from the Romanisation Chinese: 天; pinyin: tiān; literally: "heaven, sky" and Chinese: 行; pinyin: xíng; literally: "move, walk" (from Hexagram 1 of the Book of Changes), referring to the locomotory mode of gibbons.[1]
Habitat
It is found in the tropical forests of Yunnan Province in south west China and Myanmar.[3] There are estimated to be 200 individuals living in China and an unknown number in Myanmar.[3]
References
- 1 2 3 Fan, P-F; He, K; Chen, X; Ortiz, A; Zhang, B; Zhao, C; Li, Y-Q,; Zhang, H-B; Kimock, C; Wang, W-Z; Groves, C; Turvey, S.T; Roos, C; Helgen, K.M; Jiang, X-L (2017). "Description of a new species of Hoolock gibbon (Primates: Hylobatidae) based on integrative taxonomy.". American Journal of Primatology. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. (9999): 1–17. ISSN 1098-2345. doi:10.1002/ajp.22631. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ↑ Brown, Georgia (11 January 2017). "New species of gibbon discovered in China". The Guardian.
- 1 2 3 "'Star Wars gibbon' is new primate species". BBC News. 11 January 2017.