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{{Short description|Extinct genus of primate}}
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{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = [[Pleistocene|Early–Middle Pleistocene]]<br/>~{{fossil range|2|0.3}}
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| display_parents = 2
| taxon = Gigantopithecus blacki
| 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=12 December 2017
}}
'''''Gigantopithecus''''' ({{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=2 October 2022
''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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''Gigantopithecus blacki'' was named by anthropologist [[Ralph von Koenigswald]] in 1935 based on two third lower [[molar teeth]], which, he noted, were of enormous size (the first was "''Ein gewaltig grosser (...) Molar''", the second was described as "''der enorme Grösse besitzt''"), measuring {{convert|20|x|22|mm|abbr=in|frac=8}}.<ref name=Koenigswald1935/> The specific name ''blacki'' is in honour of Canadian palaeoanthropologist [[Davidson Black]], who had studied human evolution in China and had died the previous year. Von Koenigswald, working for the [[Dutch East Indies]] Mineralogical Survey on Java, had found the teeth in a drugstore in [[Hong Kong]] where they were being sold as "[[dragon bones]]" to be used in [[traditional Chinese medicine]]. By 1939, after purchasing more teeth, he determined they had originated somewhere in [[Guangdong]] or [[Guangxi]]. He could not formally describe the [[type specimen]] until 1952 due to his [[internment]] by Japanese forces during [[World War II]]. The originally discovered teeth are part of the collection of the [[University of Utrecht]].<ref name=ZhangHarrison2017/><ref name=Hartwig2002/>
In 1955, a survey team that was led by Chinese palaeontologist [[Pei Wenzhong]] was tasked by the Chinese [[Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology|Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology]] (IVPP) with finding the original ''Gigantopithecus'' locality. They collected 47 teeth among shipments of "dragon bones" in Guangdong and Guangxi. In 1956, the team discovered the first ''[[in situ]]'' remains, a third molar and [[premolar]], in a cave (subsequently named "''Gigantopithecus'' Cave") in [[Niusui Mountain]], Guangxi. Also in 1956, [[Liucheng County|Liucheng]] farmer Xiuhuai Qin discovered more teeth and the first [[mandible]] on his field. From 1957 to 1963, the IVPP survey team carried out excavations in this area and recovered two more mandibles and more than 1,000 teeth.<ref name=ZhangHarrison2017/><ref name="Hartwig2002"/><ref name="Coichon1991">{{cite journal |last=Coichon |first=Russell L. |author-link=Russell Ciochon |year=1991 |title=The ape that was – Asian fossils reveal humanity's giant cousin |url=http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/giganto.html |url-status=unfit |journal=Natural History |volume=100 |pages=54–62 |issn=0028-0712 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525202625/http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/giganto.html |archive-date=
Confirmed ''Gigantopithecus'' remains have since been found in 16 different sites across southern China. The northernmost sites are {{ill|Longgupo|de|Longgupo-Höhle}} and [[Longgu Cave]], just south of the [[Yangtze River]], and southernmost on Hainan Island in the [[South China Sea]]. An isolated canine from [[Thẩm Khuyên Cave]], Vietnam, and a fourth premolar from [[Pha Bong]], Thailand, could possibly be assigned to ''Gigantopithecus'', though these could also represent the extinct orangutan ''[[Pongo weidenreichi]]''.<ref name=ZhangHarrison2017/> Two mandibular fragments each preserving the last two molars from {{ill|Semono|nl}} in [[Central Java]], Indonesia, described in 2016 could represent ''Gigantopithecus''.<ref name=Sofwan2016>{{cite journal |last=Sofwan |first=N. |year=2016 |title=Primata Besar di Jawa: Spesimen Baru ''Gigantopithecus'' dari Semedo|trans-title=Giant Primate of Java: A new ''Gigantopithecus'' specimen from Semedo|journal=Berkala Arkeologi |volume=36 |issue=2 |pages=141–160 |doi=10.30883/jba.v36i2.241 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323630558 |display-authors=et al. |doi-access=free }}</ref> The oldest remains date to 2.2 million years ago from [[Baikong Cave]], and the youngest to 295 to 215 thousand years ago from [[Shuangtan Cave|Shuangtan]] and [[Gongjishan Cave]]s.<ref name="NAT-20240110"/>
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[[File:Giganthopithecus blacki, molar.jpeg|thumb|''Gigantopithecus'' molar]]
The tooth enamel on the molars is in absolute measure the thickest of any known ape, averaging {{convert|2.5|-|2.9|mm|abbr=in|frac=32}} in three different molars, and over {{convert|6|mm|abbr=in|frac=4}} on the tongue-side (lingual) cusps of an upper molar.<ref name=Kono2014/> This has attracted comparisons with the extinct ''[[Paranthropus]]'' hominins, which had extremely large molars and thick enamel for their size.<ref name="Dean2003"/><ref name=Kono2014>{{cite journal|first1=R. T.|last1=Kono|first2=Y.|last2=Zhang|first3=C.|last3=Jin|first4=M.|last4=Takai|first5=G.|last5=Suwa|year=2014|title=A 3-dimensional assessment of molar enamel thickness and distribution pattern in ''Gigantopithecus blacki''|journal=Quaternary International|volume=354|pages=46–51|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.02.012|bibcode=2014QuInt.354...46K}}</ref> However, in relation to the tooth's size, enamel thickness for ''Gigantopithecus'' overlaps with that of several other living and extinct apes. Like orangutans and potentially all pongines (though unlike African apes) the ''Gigantopithecus'' molar had a large and flat (tabular) grinding surface, with an even enamel coating, and short dentine horns (the areas of the dentine layer which project upwards into the top enamel layer).<ref name="Olejniczak2008">{{cite journal |last1=Olejniczak |first1=A. J. |display-authors=etal |year=2008 |title=Molar enamel thickness and dentine horn height in ''Gigantopithecus blacki'' |journal=[[American Journal of Physical Anthropology]] |volume=135 |issue=1 |pages=85–91 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.20711 |pmid=17941103 |url=http://www.anthonyolejniczak.com/PDF/olejniczak_et_al_2008_AJPA_Gigantopithecus.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233645/http://www.anthonyolejniczak.com/PDF/olejniczak_et_al_2008_AJPA_Gigantopithecus.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016
==Palaeobiology==
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''Gigantopithecus'' remains are generally found in what were subtropical [[Evergreen forest|evergreen broadleaf forest]] in South China, except in [[Hainan]] which featured a [[tropical rainforest]]. Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of Early Pleistocene enamel suggests ''Gigantopithecus'' inhabited dense, humid, closed-canopy forest. [[Queque Cave]] featured a mixed deciduous and evergreen forest dominated by [[birch]], [[oak]], and [[Castanopsis|chinkapin]], as well as several low-lying [[herb]]s and [[fern]]s.<ref name=ZhangHarrison2017/>
The "''Gigantopithecus'' [[fauna]]", one of the most important mammalian faunal groups of the Early Pleistocene of southern China, includes tropical or subtropical forest species. This group has been subdivided into three stages spanning 2.6–1.8 million years ago, 1.8–1.2 million years ago, and 1.2–0.8 million years ago. The early stage is characterised by more ancient [[Neogene]] animals such as the [[gomphothere|gomphotheriid]] proboscidean (relative of elephants) ''[[Sinomastodon]]'', the [[chalicothere]] ''[[Hesperotherium]]'', the suid ''[[Hippopotamodon]]'', the [[tragulid]] {{ill|Dorcabune|it|it|italic=y}}, and the deer ''[[Cervavitus]]''. The middle stage is indicated by the appearance of the panda ''[[Ailuropoda wulingshanensis]]'', the [[dhole]] ''[[Ussuri dhole|Cuon antiquus]]'', and the [[tapir]] ''[[Tapirus sinensis]]''. The late stage features more typical Middle Pleistocene animals such as the panda ''[[Ailuropoda baconi]]'' and the [[Stegodontidae|stegodontid]] proboscidean ''[[Stegodon]]''.<ref name=Jin2014>{{cite journal|first1=C.|last1=Jin|first2=Y.|last2=Wang|display-authors=et al.|year=2014|title=Chronological sequence of the early Pleistocene ''Gigantopithecus'' faunas from cave sites in the Chongzuo, Zuojiang River area,South China|journal=Quaternary International|volume=354|pages=4–14|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.051|bibcode=2014QuInt.354....4J}}</ref> Other classic animals typically include orangutans, [[macaque]]s, [[Rhinoceros (genus)|rhino]]s, the extinct pigs ''[[Sus xiaozhu]]'' and ''[[Sus peii]]'', [[muntjac]], ''[[Cervus]]'' (a deer), [[gaur]] (a cow), the [[bovid]] ''[[Megalovis]]'', and more rarely the large [[saber-toothed cat]] ''[[Megantereon]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=M.|last1=Zhu|first2=B. W.|last2=Schubert|first3=J.|last3=Liu|first4=S. C.|last4=Wallace|year=2014|title=A new record of the saber-toothed cat ''Megantereon'' (Felidae, Machairodontinae) from an Early Pleistocene ''Gigantopithecus'' fauna, Yanliang Cave, Fusui, Guangxi, South China|journal=Quaternary International|volume=354|pages=100–109|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.052|bibcode=2014QuInt.354..100Z}}</ref> In 2009, American palaeoanthropologist [[Russell Ciochon]] hypothesised an undescribed, chimp-sized ape he identified from a few teeth coexisted with ''Gigantopithecus'',<ref name=Ciochon2009/> which in 2019 was identified as the closely related ''[[Meganthropus]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Zanolli|first1=Clément|last2=Kullmer|first2=Ottmar|last3=Kelley|first3=Jay|last4=Bacon|first4=Anne-Marie|last5=Demeter|first5=Fabrice|last6=Dumoncel|first6=Jean|last7=Fiorenza|first7=Luca|last8=Grine|first8=Frederick E.|last9=Hublin|first9=Jean-Jacques|last10=Nguyen|first10=Anh Tuan|last11=Nguyen|first11=Thi Mai Huong|s2cid=102353734|date=May 2019|title=Evidence for increased hominid diversity in the Early to Middle Pleistocene of Indonesia|url=https://kar.kent.ac.uk/72814/1/01-Indonesian_hominid_paleobiodiversity_v2.pdf|journal=Nature Ecology & Evolution|language=en|volume=3|issue=5|pages=755–764|doi=10.1038/s41559-019-0860-z|pmid=30962558|bibcode=2019NatEE...3..755Z |issn=2397-334X|access-date=
== Extinction ==
''Gigantopithecus'' fossil sites range across Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan and Hubei Provinces, but those post-dating about 400,000 years ago are only known from Guangxi. Its youngest definitive remains in China are roughly 295,000 to 215,000 years old.<ref name="NAT-20240110"/> Two possible teeth (PIN 5792/439 and PIN 5792/490) have been reported from the [[Late Pleistocene]] deposit in Vietnam,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lopatin |first1=A. V. |last2=Maschenko |first2=E. N. |last3=Dac |first3=Le Xuan |year=2022 |title=''Gigantopithecus blacki'' (Primates, Ponginae) from the Lang Trang Cave (Northern Vietnam): The Latest ''Gigantopithecus'' in the Late Pleistocene? |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1134/S0012496622010069 |journal=Doklady Biological Sciences |language=en |volume=502 |issue=1 |pages=6–10 |doi=10.1134/S0012496622010069 |pmid=35298746 |s2cid=254413457 |issn=0012-4966|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but this record has been subsequently suggested to instead represent a [[Chinese orangutan]] (''Pongo weidenreichi'').<ref>{{cite journal|author=Zhang, Yingqi|year=2024|title=Review and perspective of the ninety years in quest of ''Gigantopithecus blacki''|journal=Acta Anthropologica Sinica|volume=43|issue=6|pages=1006–1026|doi=10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2024.0094|url=https://www.anthropol.ac.cn/EN/abstract/abstract2433.shtml}}</ref> The extinction of ''Gigantopithecus'' correlates with a cooling trend marked by intensifying seasonality and [[monsoon]] strength in the region, which led to the encroachment of rainforests by open grasslands.<ref name="SunEtAl2019">{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Fajun |last2=Wang |first2=Yang |last3=Wang |first3=Yuan |last4=Jin |first4=Chang-zhu |last5=Deng |first5=Tao |last6=Wolff |first6=Burt |date=15 June 2019 |title=Paleoecology of Pleistocene mammals and paleoclimatic change in South China: Evidence from stable carbon and oxygen isotopes |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018218308381 |journal=[[Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology]] |volume=524 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2019.03.021 |bibcode=2019PPP...524....1S |s2cid=134558136 |archive-date=14 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221114220312/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018218308381 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=Shao2017>{{cite journal|first1=q.|last1=Shao|first2=Y.|last2=Wang|display-authors=et al.|year=2017|title=U-series and ESR/U-series dating of the ''Stegodon''–''Ailuropoda'' fauna at Black Cave, Guangxi, southern China with implications for the timing of the extinction of ''Gigantopithecus blacki''|journal=Quaternary International|volume=434|pages=65–74|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2015.12.016|bibcode=2017QuInt.434...65S}}</ref> Because ''Gigantopithecus'' teeth dating to this time show evidence of dietary shifts and chronic nutritional stress, it may have been less successful at adapting to these environmental stressors compared to contemporary great apes — namely ''[[Pongo weidenreichi]]'' and ''[[Homo]]'' — which could have led to its extinction.<ref name="NAT-20240110"/> Similarly, ''Gigantopithecus'' seems to only have been consuming C<sub>3</sub> forest plants, instead of the C<sub>4</sub> savannah plants which were becoming more common during this time.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=
Human activity in southern China is known as early as 800,000 years ago but does not become prevalent until after the extinction of ''Gigantopithecus'', so it is unclear if pressures such as competition over resources or overhunting were factors.<ref name="Ciochon2009">{{cite journal |last=Ciochon |first=Russell L. |author-link=Russell Ciochon |date=17 June 2009 |title=The mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia |journal=Nature |volume=459 |issue=7249 |pages=910–911 |bibcode=2009Natur.459..910C |doi=10.1038/459910a |pmid=19536242 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Zhang et al. in 2024 suggested that there is no evidence of any archaic hominin involvement in the early extinctions of the Pleistocene of southern China.<ref name="NAT-20240110"/>
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