An entirely new species of ape has been discovered buried in an ancient tomb in central China.

The remains of the now-extinct gibbon, which researchers have named Junzi imperialis, were found in a burial chamber in Shaanxi Province that dates back around 2,300 years.

Researchers believe it may be the first ape species to have perished as a direct result of human activities such as hunting.

“All of the world’s apes - chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans and gibbons - are threatened with extinction today due to human activities, but no ape species were thought to have become extinct as a result of historic hunting or habitat loss,” note scientists at the Zoological Society of London, who led the research.

“However, the discovery of the recently extinct Junzi changes this, and highlights the vulnerability of gibbons in particular.”