Nomascus imperialis
| Nomascus imperialis Temporal range: Holocene,
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| Illustration of the holotype specimen | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Haplorhini |
| Family: | Hylobatidae |
| Genus: | Nomascus |
| Species: | †N. imperialis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Nomascus imperialis (Turvey et al., 2018)
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| Synonyms | |
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Nomascus imperialis (formerly Junzi imperialis), also known as the imperial gibbon, is a recently extinct species of gibbon that inhabited central China during the late Holocene. It went extinct at some point after 200 BC, potentially as late as the 18th century.
The type specimen was found in an Ancient Chinese noblewoman's tomb. It is believed that when alive, during the Warring States period around 2,200 to 2,300 years ago, it was owned by Lady Xia, the mother of King Zhuangxiang of Qin and grandmother of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China.