ANU helps identify new species of ‘Skywalker’ gibbon

An Australian National University (ANU) researcher has helped identify a new species of primate which has been named the 'Skywalker Hoolock gibbon' - partly because the scientists that made the discovery are Star Wars fans. Renowned biological anthropologist Emeritus Professor Colin Groves of the ANU School of Archaeology and Anthropology has been working in the field of species classification for more than 50 years. Whilst studying museum specimens of Hoolock gibbons in the 1960s Emeritus Professor Groves realised that there were actually two related yet distinct species. "I detected there were two different species separated by the Chindwin River in Myanmar," Emeritus Professor Groves said. "There were certain proportional differences in the teeth and skulls in particular. Externally there are quite clear differences in the markings as well, highlighted by the male's white pubic tassel." Emeritus Professor Groves named the new species ' Hoolock leuconedys ', from the Latin terms 'leuco' meaning white and 'nedys' meaning groin. Half a century after the discovery, Chinese researchers led by primatologist Peng-Fei Fan were looking at Chinese primate populations including Hoolock leuconedys .