| Nomascus imperialis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration of the holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Hylobatidae |
| Genus: | Nomascus |
| Species: | †N. imperialis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Nomascus imperialis (Turvey et al., 2018) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Nomascus imperialis (formerlyJunzi imperialis), also known as theimperial gibbon[1], is a recently extinctspecies ofgibbon that inhabited central China during the lateHolocene. It went extinct at some point after 200 BC, potentially as late as the 18th century.[2]
The type specimen was found in anAncient Chinese noblewoman'stomb. It is believed that when alive, during theWarring States period around 2,200 to 2,300 years ago, it was owned byLady Xia, the mother ofKing Zhuangxiang of Qin and grandmother ofQin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.[3]
The species was named based on the type specimen, an incompleteskull, in 2018 by Samuel Turvey and colleagues.[2] It was described asJunzi imperialis, the only member of the monotypic genusJunzi, due to the distinctive morphology of its molar teeth and skull. The original generic nameJunzi was coined by Turvey and his colleagues in reference to how gibbons were, in ancient China, kept by noblemen scholars, orjunzi (君子), as pets.[3] The study's authors were not allowed by Chinese authorities to sample the gibbon's DNA, and the species was thus placed in its own genus based on exclusively morphological evidence.[4]
In 2025, a phylogenetic study of extant and extinct gibbons extracted DNA from the type specimen as well as another, older specimen, and found it to group within the genusNomascus as thesister species to the highly endangeredHainan gibbon, one of the only extant gibbons remaining in China. It was thus moved to the genusNomascus.[5]
Gibbons were recorded by ancient Chinese sources to have been found as far north as theYellow River.[2]Nomascus imperialis is the northernmost known gibbon, with 4,000-year-old subfossil remains of a wild individual identified from Yemao Cave inChongqing. The northernmost record of the imperial gibbon, and of any gibbon, is of the captive individual kept by Lady Xia, which was identified fromShaanxi.[5] Although this individual was captive, other animals in the menagerie appear to have had local origins, and it is thus assumed that this individual was caught locally and the species did naturally reach as far north as Shaanxi. This is supported by historical accounts suggesting that gibbons occurred in Shaanxi up to the 18th century.[2]
The imperial gibbon is the only knownape species to have gone extinct in theHolocene. The cause of its extinction remains uncertain, but likely owes to the mass deforestation occurring in central China during the Imperial period. The region inhabited by the species supported the highest human densities in the world for millennia, and extensive deforestation occurred in the range of the species by the late Imperial period. Remaining forests in the area were high-elevation, which were likely suboptimal for this species due to its potential dependency on lowland forests.[2]
The holotype skull was discovered when Lady Xia's 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 includedcranes,[3]leopards,lynxes, and ablack bear.[6]
