The first great ape named by the Chinese, fewer than 150 of them are still alive

The Tianxing gibbon was officially named by Chinese scientist Professor Fan Pengfei and his team in January 2017. Previously, they were mistaken for another type of gibbon, the Hoolock gibbon. In fact, they both have two white eyebrows, but compared with the typical Eastern Hoolock gibbon (Hoolock leuconedys), the two white eyebrows of the Tianxing gibbon are clearly separated and of uniform thickness, and the male has no white beard on his chin.

Comparison of facial features of the eastern white-browed gibbon (C, G) and the skywalker gibbon (D, H), male on top and female on bottom | Fan, P., et al. / American Journal of Primatology (2017)

Professor Fan Pengfei and his team compared individual photos in the wild, measured tooth specimens, and conducted molecular genetic tests. They finally determined that this species of hoofed gibbon distributed in Gaoligong Mountain was clearly differentiated from the typical eastern hoofed gibbon and was a new species. After confirming that it was a new species, naming it was particularly important. This was the first time that Chinese scientists had the opportunity to name a new species of apes. It had to be loud and attract more people's attention to species protection. The name the team came up with after discussion was very cool: Chinese name Skywalker hoolock gibbon, English name Skywalker hoolock gibbon, Latin name Hoolock tianxing.

The singing white-browed hero

Unlike monkeys that are noisy and harmful to crops, gibbons have been extended to the image of gentlemen in traditional Chinese culture since the Han Dynasty. "Heaven moves vigorously, and gentlemen strive for self-improvement." The name expresses the researchers' wish that the species can continue to survive in nature, and also conveys the characteristics of the skywalker gibbon. As a typical arboreal animal, they basically live in trees all their lives and almost never go to the ground. "Skywalker" and "Skywalker" very vividly describe this species that lives in the forest canopy.

Of course there is another important reason. As a Star Wars fan, Professor Fan also hopes that having the same name as the legendary character Luke Skywalker will bring more attention and protection to this species.

Look, the athletically competent Skywalker gibbons. In the forest, it is not easy for us conservationists and researchers to keep up with them | Zhao Chao

On January 12, 2017, a new species naming conference was held in a lively manner, and Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, also retweeted the good news on Twitter.

In addition to almost never coming down to the ground like the barons in the trees, they have many other characteristics. Like other apes, they have no tail and have very special ball-shaped wrist joints. This allows their palms and arms to form any angle, so they can move quickly in the tree canopy with their hands. Most of the time, they use their arms to "arm walk" in the tree canopy, of course, they can also walk upright on branches or on the ground with two feet.

Gibbons make beautiful calls that can be heard up to 2 kilometers away, so when looking for gibbons in the wild, we always use their calls to determine their numbers.

A male Tianxing gibbon is grooming a female. They are monogamous and look very affectionate. | Zhao Chao

The family structure of the Skywalker Gibbon is monogamous. The male Skywalker Gibbon is dark brown with light-colored patches on the chest and abdomen, a flat head, and long hair that drapes down the back. The back of the female is gray-brown, and the color of the limbs is lighter than the body. There is a circle of white hair on the face and under the eyes. Almost every morning, they will make very loud and beautiful calls to find a mate or announce the home range, or the couple will sing a duet to consolidate the family relationship.

Mammals that can sing are rare, and gibbons with complex, melodious polyphonic songs are even rarer. Among the several species of gibbons in China, the songs of the crested gibbons may attract the most fans. As for the song of the sky-walking gibbon, that's a matter of opinion. If you're interested, you can scan the QR code to listen.

Scan the QR code on WeChat to listen to the call of the Skywalker Gibbon | Yunshan Conservation

The call of the Western Black-crested Gibbon Nomascus concolor | Yunshan Conservation

Less than 150 forest singers

After the press conference, the local governments and relevant departments of Baoshan and Dehong Prefecture, the research teams of Sun Yat-sen University and Southwest Forestry University, and the species protection charity Yunshan Conservation jointly launched a large-scale survey on the number of Tianxing gibbons, and found that there are less than 150 Tianxing gibbons in existence, and they are isolated in multiple unconnected forest patches. They are mainly distributed in Baoshan, Tengchong and Yingjiang areas of Gaoligong Mountain in Yunnan. There may also be distribution in neighboring Myanmar, but due to the unstable social environment, there is currently a lack of survey data.

In 2019, after rigorous discussions by a team of experts, the Skywalker gibbon was included in the list of the world's 25 most endangered primates from 2018 to 2020. It is the only native Chinese species on this list.

A male Hylobates gibbon singing | Dong Lei

The main threats they face now are habitat loss and degradation, as well as the impact of small populations. The current distribution of the Skywalker gibbon is extremely scattered, and the quality of the habitat is uneven. The forests suitable for gibbons to live are fragmented into isolated islands, and for gibbons that strictly live in the trees, it is difficult to form new family groups after migrating, which limits the expansion of the population. Perhaps because the habitat is too high, the reproduction rate of the Skywalker gibbon is also at the bottom of all gibbons. The distribution is extremely fragmented, and the slow reproduction has exacerbated the challenges of population reproduction.

Western Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock, found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and China | Vijay Cavale / Wikimedia Commons

After seeing the faces of the skywalker gibbons for so many times, I can't help but feel that the faces of these forest singers are sad and melancholy with human arrogance. I hope that one day, we can see their broken islands connected again, and they can sing freely in a larger home range.

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward