title: Description of a new species of Hoolock gibbon (Primates: Hylobatidae) based on integrative taxonomy.
abstract: We describe a species of Hoolock gibbon (Primates: Hylobatidae) that is new to science from eastern Myanmar and southwestern China. The genus of hoolock gibbons comprises two previously described living species, the western (Hoolock hoolock) and eastern hoolock (H. leuconedys) gibbons, geographically isolated by the Chindwin River. We assessed the morphological and genetic characteristics of wild animals and museum specimens, and conducted multi-disciplinary analyses using mitochondrial genomic sequences, external morphology, and craniodental characters to evaluate the taxonomic status of the hoolock population in China. The results suggest that hoolocks distributed to the east of the Irrawaddy-Nmai Hka Rivers, which were previously assigned to H. leuconedys, are morphologically and genetically distinct from those to the west of the river, and should be recognized as a new species, the Gaoligong hoolock gibbon or skywalker hoolock gibbon (H. tianxing sp. nov.). We consider that the new species should be categorized as Endangered under IUCN criteria. The discovery of the new species focuses attention on the need for improved conservation of small apes, many of which are in danger of extinction in southern China and Southeast Asia.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.|Institute of Eastern-Himalaya Biodiversity Research, Dali University, Dali, China.
authors.forename: Peng-Fei
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.|Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.|The Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York.|New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York.|Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Cloud Mountain Conservation, Dali, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Kunming Zoo, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Yun-Qiao
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Zoo, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Bo
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, New York.|New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kimock
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Zhi
authors.initials: WZ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Groves
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Samuel T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Turvey
authors.affiliation: Gene Bank of Primates and Primate Genetics Laboratory, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.affiliation: Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
authors.forename: Kristofer M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Helgen
authors.affiliation: Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
authors.forename: Xue-Long
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D063147:Animal Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D045303:Cytochromes b / Q000235:genetics; D016674:Hylobatidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D045303:Cytochromes b
keywords: Hoolock tianxing; Mt. Gaoligong; endangered species; gibbon; new species