In a study published Thursday, scientists describe a new species of gibbon, long-extinct, that lived in China as recently as 2,200 years ago. Junzi imperialis is named for its imperial living situation, as the pet of a grandmother of China's first emperor.
"Having gibbons as pets appears to have been common among Chinese royals during ancient times," explains one of the study's authors, Alejandra Ortiz of the Zoological Society of London and New York University. Gibbons, along with other animals such as rhinoceroses, panthers, pandas and bears, were seen as elegant status symbols.
In the case of J. imperialis, the status-seeking royal in question may have been a woman known as Lady Xia. Her grandson, Qin Shi Huang, famously united the independent states of what is now central China, becoming the country's first emperor in 221 B.C.
When Qin died, he ordered that his mausoleum be guarded by the famous terra cotta warriors, which were discovered in the 1970s and offered a window into China's imperial history.
https://www.npr.org/2018/06/21/621487897/long-extinct-gibbon-found-inside-tomb-of-chinese-emperors-grandmother
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read