Remains of Extinct Ape Found in Imperial Tomb in China

LONDON, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that the remains of a previously unknown species of gibbon, dubbed Junzi imperialis, have been discovered in a 2,300-year-old tomb in central China. The imperial tomb also contained the remains of lynx, leopards, and a black bear, and is thought to have belonged to Lady Xia, who was grandmother to Qin Shihuang, China’s first emperor. Helen Chatterjee of University College London and her colleagues think Junzi imperialis may have gone extinct a few hundred years ago, due to hunting and habitat loss. In China, gibbons currently only live in tropical rainforests in the country's far southern reaches. For more on archaeology in China, go to “The Buddha of the Lake.”