Skywalker hoolock gibbon

The Skywalker hoolock gibbon or Gaoligong hoolock gibbon[3] (Hoolock tianxing) is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. It is one of three species of hoolock gibbon and was first described in January 2017 in the American Journal of Primatology.[4] Researchers estimate H. tianxing diverged from H. leuconedys roughly 490,000 years ago.[3]

Skywalker hoolock gibbon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Suborder: Haplorhini
Infraorder: Simiiformes
Family: Hylobatidae
Genus: Hoolock
Species:
H. tianxing
Binomial name
Hoolock tianxing
Fan & al., 2017 [2]

Etymology

The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is named after Luke Skywalker from the Star Wars franchise, as the scientists who described it are fans of the franchise.[5][6] The specific name tianxing is the Pinyin transliteration of the Chinese terms 天 (tiān) meaning "heaven" and 行 (xíng) meaning "movement".[7][8] The name is a reference to brachiation, the main locomotory mode of gibbons, and derived from the text of the I Ching, an ancient Chinese book of divination.[2]

Habitat

The Skywalker hoolock gibbon is found in the tropical forests of eastern Myanmar and the Yunan Province in southwestern China.[5] About 200 individuals are estimated to live in China and an unknown number in Myanmar.[5]

References
  1. Fan, P.F.; Turvey, S.T.; Bryant, J.V. (2020). "Hoolock tianxing (amended version of 2019 assessment)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T118355648A166597159. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  2. 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. 79 (9999): e22631. doi:10.1002/ajp.22631. ISSN 1098-2345. PMID 28073165.
  3. Natali Anderson (2017-01-13). "Hoolock tianxing: New Species of Gibbon Discovered in Myanmar and China". Retrieved 2019-04-24.
  4. Brown, Georgia (11 January 2017). "New species of gibbon discovered in China". The Guardian.
  5. "'Star Wars gibbon' is new primate species". BBC News. 11 January 2017.
  6. "New Species of Primate Is Named After 'Star Wars'". National Geographic News. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  7. "Tian | Chinese religion". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
  8. "Xing dictionary definition | Xing defined". www.yourdictionary.com. Retrieved 2019-02-18.
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