From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Gigantopithecus blacki)
Jump to: navigation, search
Temporal range: Pleistocene, 9–0.1 Ma
Gigantopithecus blacki mandible 010112.jpg
G. blacki lower mandible (cast)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Subfamily: Ponginae
Genus: Gigantopithecus
von Koenigswald, 1935

Gigantopithecus blackiGigantopithecus bilaspurensisGigantopithecus giganteus



Friedemann Schrenk (de) holding the holotype Gigantopithecus blacki molar




Some of the caves in which teeth have been found were not caves yet at the time the apes lived, but just fissures. It has been suggested that Gigantopithecus bones were brought there by porcupines, who chew on bones as a source of calcium. This may explain the lack of Gigantopithecus bones today.[8]






In addition to bamboo, Gigantopithecus consumed other vegetable foods, as suggested by the analysis of the phytoliths adhering to its teeth. An examination of the microscopic scratches and gritty plant remains embedded in Gigantopithecus teeth suggests that they fed on seeds and fruit, as well as bamboo.[7]


A comparison graph of a 1.8-meter-tall human male (almost 5' 11") in comparison to Gigantopithecus blacki (left) and G. giganteus (right): This graph is based on orangutan proportions while standing upright.


Gigantopithecus blacki[edit]



Based on the fossil evidence, adult male Gigantopithecus blacki are believed to have stood about 3 m (9.8 ft) tall and weighed as much as 540 kg (1,190 lb),[1][3][4] making the species three to four times as heavy as modern gorillas and seven times as heavy as the orangutan, its closest living relative. Large males may have had an armspan of over 3.6 m (12 ft). The species was highly sexually dimorphic, with adult females roughly half the weight of males.[4] Because of wide interspecies differences in the relationship between tooth and body size, some argue that it is more likely that Gigantopithecus was much smaller, at roughly 1.8–1.9 m (5.9–6.2 ft).[6][13]




In the past, G. blacki was thought to be closely related to early hominins, particularly Australopithecus, on the basis of molar evidence; this is now regarded a result of convergent evolution.[14] Gigantopithecus is now placed in the subfamily Ponginae along with the orangutan.[15]

Gigantopithecus bilaspurensis[edit]

G. bilaspurensis jaw


Gigantopithecus giganteus[edit]



Gigantopithecus may have become extinct approximately 100,000 years ago, because the climate change during the Pleistocene era changed the plants from forest to savanna, and the food supply, fruits, decreased. Gigantopithecus did not eat the grass, roots and leaves that were dominant food sources in the savanna.[16][17][18]

See also[edit]


  3. ^ a b c d e Coichon, R. (1991). "The ape that was – Asian fossils reveal humanity's giant cousin". Natural History 100: 54–62. ISSN 0028-0712. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved 2007-12-06. 
  8. ^ Colin Barras (May 21, 2016). "Gigantopithecus: The story of the greatest of the great apes". New Scientist. 
  10. ^ Russell Ciochon. "The Ape That Was Asian fossils reveal humanity's giant cousin". University of Iowa. Archived from the original on Dec 31, 2012. 
  13. ^ "Gigantosize.jpg".
  16. ^ 05, Mark Strauss PUBLISHED January. "The Largest Ape That Ever Lived Was Doomed By Its Size". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2016-01-06. 
  17. ^ Bocherens, Hervé; Schrenk, Friedemann; Chaimanee, Yaowalak; Kullmer, Ottmar; Mörike, Doris; Pushkina, Diana; Jaeger, Jean-Jacques. "Flexibility of diet and habitat in Pleistocene South Asian mammals: Implications for the fate of the giant fossil ape Gigantopithecus". Quaternary International. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.11.059. 
  18. ^ "Giant ape Gigantopithecus became extinct 100,000 years ago due to its inability to adapt". Retrieved 2016-01-06. 

Further reading[edit]
