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, during the Warring States period 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 PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Conservation status
Extinct
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

Gibbons were depicted in historical Chinese art, here from 1427

The holotype skull was discovered when the tomb, located in Shaanxi, 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]