Gigantopithecus
Gigantopithecus was the largest primate that lived during the Pleistocene Era (1.8 million to 10,000 years ago) when large mammals ruled the Earth. Gigantopithecus is known to have lived in what is now southern China and Indochina (mainland Southeast Asia). He would have risen 3 meters (10 feet) high if he choose to stand up on only his hind legs, and probably weighed about 544 kg (1200 lbs).[1][2][3] In comparison, gorillas stand only 152 to 182 centimeters (5 to 6 feet) tall and weighs about 136 to 195 kg (300 to 430 lbs), and the heaviest recorded was 183 centimeters (6 feet) tall and weighed 267 kg (589 lbs).
| Gigantopithecus Temporal range: Pleistocene
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| Genus: | †Gigantopithecus
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Gigantopithecus Media
Friedemann Schrenk holding the holotype Gigantopithecus blacki molar
Gigantopithecus is closely allied with orangutans (a male Bornean orangutan above)
Le gibbon (white background)
Dryopithecus fontani, from Late Miocene of Eurasia
Gorila de llanura occidental. Gorilla gorilla - Blanca Martí de Ahumada (white background)
PanTroglodytesSmit (white background)
Representación ideal del Gigantopithecus blackii
Simia satyrus - 1837 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica - Special Collections University of Amsterdam - White Background
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Reconstruction of Gigantopithecus with a speculative large build, gorilla-like posture, and orange hair
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References
- ↑ Christmas, Jane (2005-11-07). "Giant Ape lived alongside humans". McMaster University. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ↑ Coichon, R. (1991). "The ape that was – Asian fossils reveal humanity's giant cousin". Natural History. 100: 54–62. ISSN 0028-0712. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ Pettifor, Eric (2000) [1995]. "From the Teeth of the Dragon: Gigantopithecus Blacki". Selected Readings in Physical Anthropology. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. pp. 143–149. ISBN 0-7872-7155-1. Archived from the original on 2017-08-04. Retrieved 2008-01-30.