Gigantopithecus blacki is the single species of Gigantopithecus, an extinct great ape that lived in central to southern China from about two million to roughly 215,000 to 295,000 years ago, in the Early to Middle Pleistocene. Ralph von Koenigswald identified its first remains, two molars, in a drugstore in 1935. Only teeth and four mandibles are known, from at least 16 sites, so size estimates are speculative, though it was traditionally restored as an orangutan-like ape of possibly 200 to 300 kilograms. It is now classed in the subfamily Ponginae, close to orangutans. Its molars are the largest of any known ape and have the thickest enamel.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Hominidae (Wikipedia)
In Biome
Source Gigantopithecus (Wikipedia)
In Ecosystem
Source Gigantopithecus (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Gigantopithecus (Wikipedia)Lead, locationQuote, Lead, location
lived in central to southern China
Sources
1. Gigantopithecus (Wikipedia)
Lead, extinct status
is an extinct genus of great ape that lived in central to southern China from two million to approximately 215,000-295,000 years ago
Lead, location
lived in central to southern China
Habitat and environment
It primarily lived in subtropical to tropical forest
Diet
Gigantopithecus appears to have been a generalist herbivore of C3 forest plants
Body size
potentially 200-300 kilograms (440-660 lb) when alive, but the few remains make total size estimates highly speculative.
In Group: Primate Species, Lead, primate group
is an extinct genus of great ape that lived in central to southern China from two million to approximately 215,000-295,000 years ago
View the SourceHominidae (Wikipedia)
Child Taxon Of: Hominidae, Phylogeny, Fossil list, Gigantopithecus blackiQuote, Child Taxon Of: Hominidae, Phylogeny, Fossil list, Gigantopithecus blacki
In addition to the extant species and subspecies, archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists have discovered and classified numerous extinct great ape species as below, based on the taxonomy shown.
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