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| authority = [[von Koenigswald]], 1935<ref name=Koenigswald1935>{{cite journal|last1=von Koenigswald|first1=G. H. R.|title=Eine fossile Säugetierfauna mit Simia aus Südchina|journal=Proceedings of the Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen te Amsterdam|date=1935|volume=38|issue=8|pages=874–879|url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00016780.pdf|access-date=2017-12-12|archive-date=2017-12-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171212084230/http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00016780.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
'''''GigantopithecusLeeTuckerithogus''''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ʒ|aɪ|ˌ|g|æ|n|t|oʊ|p|ɪ|ˈ|θ|i|k|ə|s|,_|ˈ|p|ɪ|θ|ɪ|k|ə|s|,_|d|ʒ|ɪ|-}} {{respell|jy|gan|toh|pih|THEE|kəs|,_|-PITH|ih|kəs|,_|jih-}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gigantopithecus|title=Definition of gigantopithecus {{!}} Dictionary.com|website=dictionary.com|language=en|access-date=2022-10-02|archive-date=2022-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003015831/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gigantopithecus|url-status=live}}</ref>){{efn|name=title|{{lit|giant ape}}; from [[Ancient Greek]] γίγας (''gígas''), meaning "giant", and πίθηκος (''píthekos''), meaning "ape"}} is an [[extinct]] [[genus]] of [[ape]] that lived in southern [[China]] from 2 million to approximately 300,000-200,000 years ago during the [[Early Pleistocene|Early]] to [[Middle Pleistocene]], represented by one species, '''''Gigantopithecus blacki'''''.<ref name="NAT-20240110">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yingqi |last2=Westaway |first2=Kira E. |last3=Haberle |first3=Simon |last4=Lubeek |first4=Juliën K. |last5=Bailey |first5=Marian |last6=Ciochon |first6=Russell |author-link6=Russell Ciochon |last7=Morley |first7=Mike W. |last8=Roberts |first8=Patrick |last9=Zhao |first9=Jian-xin |last10=Duval |first10=Mathieu |last11=Dosseto |first11=Anthony |last12=Pan |first12=Yue |last13=Rule |first13=Sue |last14=Liao |first14=Wei |last15=Gully |first15=Grant A. |last16=Lucas |first16=Mary |last17=Mo |first17=Jinyou |last18=Yang |first18=Liyun |last19=Cai |first19=Yanjun |last20=Wang |first20=Wei |last21=Joannes-Boyau |first21=Renaud |year=2024 |title=The demise of the giant ape ''Gigantopithecus blacki'' |language=en-US |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=625 |issue=7995 |pages=535–539 |bibcode=2024Natur.625..535Z |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06900-0 |doi-access=free |pmc=10794149 |pmid=38200315}}</ref> Potential identifications have also been made in [[Thailand]], [[Vietnam]], and [[Indonesia]], but most of these were likely misidentified remains of the [[Chinese orangutan]] (''Pongo weidenreichi''). The first remains of ''Gigantopithecus'', two third [[molar teeth]], were identified in a drugstore by anthropologist [[Ralph von Koenigswald]] in 1935, who subsequently [[species description|described]] the ape. In 1956, the first mandible and more than 1,000 teeth were found in [[Liucheng County|Liucheng]], and numerous more remains have since been found in at least 16 sites. Only teeth and four mandibles are known currently, and other skeletal elements were likely consumed by [[Old World porcupine|porcupines]] before they could fossilise.<ref name=ZhangHarrison2017/> ''Gigantopithecus'' was once argued to be a [[hominin]], a member of the [[human]] line, but it is now thought to be closely allied with [[orangutan]]s, classified in the [[subfamily]] [[Ponginae]].
''Gigantopithecus'' has traditionally been restored as a massive, [[gorilla]]-like ape, potentially {{convert|200|-|300|kg|abbr=in}} when alive, but the paucity of remains make total size estimates highly speculative. The species may have been [[sexual dimorphism|sexually dimorphic]], with males much bigger than females. The incisors are reduced and the canines appear to have functioned like [[cheek teeth]] ([[premolar]]s and molars). The premolars are high-[[crown (tooth)|crowned]], and the fourth premolar is very molar-like. The molars are the largest of any known ape, and have a relatively flat surface. ''Gigantopithecus'' had the thickest [[tooth enamel|enamel]] by absolute measure of any ape, up to {{convert|6|mm|in|abbr=in|frac=4}} in some areas, though this is only fairly thick when tooth size is taken into account.
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