(CNN) Researchers have uncovered the skull and jaw of a now-extinct, but never-before-seen genus of gibbon, which they've named Junzi imperialis.

Importantly, the remains -- which were uncovered from a 2,300-year-old Chinese temple -- have evidenced the direct role of humans in Junzi's extinction, the first extinction of its kind among primates, according to a new study published in the journal Science on Friday.

A female Hainan gibbon with an infant. The imperial Chinese revered gibbons.

"What's outstanding about this study is that it represents a unique genera, that it's something that is genuinely new to science," said James Hansford, one of the authors of the study. "But it also represents the first known human-driven primate extinction that we know of as well."

Many species have gone extinct. But since the end of the Ice Age, when humans started affecting species, there's been no evidence of any human-driven ape extinctions, according to Hansford.

"All the evidence points to humans being the dominating factor behind the loss of this species," said Susan Cheyne, a director of the Borneo Nature Foundation, who is familiar with the study.

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