Gigantopithecus << jy gan toh pih THEE kuhs or jy gan toh PIHTH ihk uhs >> is a huge, extinct ape that lived in the forests of what are now southern China, northern Vietnam, and northern India. It ranks as the largest ape to have ever lived. Experts estimate that some individuals may have weighed more than 900 pounds (400 kilograms) and stood 10 feet (3 meters) tall when upright. Gigantopithecus lived from more than 8 million years ago to about 200,000 years ago. Scientists recognize two species: (1) Gigantopithecus giganteus and (2) G. blacki.
Scientists know of Gigantopithecus from several fossil lower jaws and hundreds of isolated fossil teeth. Gigantopithecus had enormous jaws and molars with thick enamel that enabled it to eat tough, fibrous foods. Its diet likely included bamboo and durian, a tropical fruit with a hard, prickly outer skin.
Many scientists think Gigantopithecus descended from an earlier Asian ape called Sivapithecus, which was related to early ancestors of modern orangutans. G. blacki, the larger of the two species, lived in Asia when Homo erectus, an early species of human beings, migrated into the region more than 11/2 million years ago. However, little evidence suggests that Gigantopithecus and early human beings ever interacted. Scientists do not know if early human beings played a role in the extinction of Gigantopithecus.
