New Species of Primate Is Named After ‘Star Wars’
The Force is strong with the skywalker hoolock gibbon.
Move over, Ewoks—there’s another cute creature swinging through the trees.
Scientists announced the discovery of a new species of primate, the skywalker hoolock gibbon (Hoolock tianxing), in the American Journal of Primatology on Tuesday. The scientists named it skywalker because the Chinese characters for its scientific name translate to “heaven’s movement”—but also because they’re fans of Star Wars, according to the BBC.
Mark Hamill, the actor who stars as Luke Skywalker in the film franchise, has already taken note of the name. On Wednesday, he tweeted: “So proud of this! First the Pez dispenser, then the Underoos & U.S. postage stamp... now this! #GorillaMyDreams #SimianSkywalker #JungleJedi.”
Hoolock gibbons are about 32 inches tall, have no tail,
