Giant Ape's Jaw Bone Discovered in China 1

Two unrelated American negro males with extremely large teeth are described. The maximum reported values for Australian aboriginal mesiodistal crown diameter are exceeded in 8 out of 16 tooth groups. The majority of the negro dental measurements either exceed or lie between the mean values given in the literature for Australopithecus and Paranthropus. This casts doubt on the concept that a distinct morphological gap separates fossil from contemporary man.

Australopithecine dental dimensions in a contemporary population

Keene¹

1967

Gigantopithecus blacki: a giant ape from the Pleistocene of Asia revisited

Zhang

Harrison

2017

Gigantopithecus blacki is the largest hominoid that ever lived. The consensus view is that it is a specialized pongine and late-surviving member of the Sivapithecus-Indopithecus lineage. It is known primarily from Early and Middle Pleistocene cave sites in southern China, dating from 2.0 Ma to almost 300 ka. The cause of its extinction in the late Middle Pleistocene is unknown, but ecological change or the arrival of Homo erectus may have been contributing factors. Gigantopithecus is highly specialized in its dentognathic anatomy, with a unique combination of features that distinguish it from all other hominoids. Based on the size of its dentition and mandible, a reasonable estimate of its body mass would be 200-300 kg. There was a progressive increase in dental size from the Early Pleistocene to the Middle Pleistocene, and possibly a shift towards greater complexity of the cheek teeth. Gigantopithecus exhibits a relatively high degree of sexual dimorphism, implying a high level of male-male competition, but the relatively small canines in both sexes suggest that these teeth were not important in agonistic behaviors. The species inhabited a subtropical monsoon forest with a closed canopy and dense understory. Foraging was focused on the forest floor and its diet included a broad range of C 3 plants, including fruits, leaves and stems, and possibly tubers. The cheek teeth and jaws were adapted for processing a wide variety of bulky, fibrous, and abrasive food items, but the small incisors indicate that incisal preparation was not an important part of its feeding repertoire.

First direct evidence of conservative foraging ecology of early Gigantopithecus blacki (~2 Ma) in Guangxi, southern China

Jiang

Zhao

Guo

et al. 2021

Objectives Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest hominoid known, is one of the representative Pleistocene mammals in southern China and northern Southeast Asia. Here we investigate the feeding ecology of G. blacki in its core habitat (Guangxi, Southern China) during the early Early Pleistocene, which was the early period in its evolution. Materials and methods The stable isotopic (C, O) analysis of tooth enamel of the fauna associated with G. blacki (n = 58), including the largest number of G. blacki teeth (n = 12) to date from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave (~2 Ma), Guangxi, China, is undertaken. Results The δ13C values of Liucheng fauna range from −12.9 to −19.0‰ with an average of −16.1 ± 1.3‰ (n = 58) and the δ18O values range from −4.3 to −9.6‰ with an average of −6.9 ± 1.2‰ (n = 58). The δ13C values of G. blacki range from −15.9‰ to −17.0‰ with an average of −16.5 ± 0.4‰ (n = 12), and the δ18O values vary from −5.9‰ to −7.5‰ with an average of −6.6 ± 0.5‰ (n = 12). Conclusions The isotopic data show Guangxi was characterized by closed C3 forest and humid climate in the early Early Pleistocene. Niche partitioning is found among G. blacki, Sinomastodon, Ailuropoda and Stegodon, the typical megafauna in South China in the early Early Pleistocene. This could be one of the important factors for them to co‐exist until the Middle Pleistocene. Smallest isotopic variations of G. blacki are found compared with those of contemporary animals, indicating a conservative foraging ecology i.e., limited foraging area and/or narrow dietary flexibility. Furthermore, the more confined foraging ecology of G. blacki is also seen in comparison with fossil and extant large‐bodied primates. However, the unique dietary pattern of G. blacki does not seem to have hindered its survival. The environment in Guangxi during the early Early Pleistocene offered the suitable conditions for G. blacki to become one of the typical species in the faunal assemblages.