Giganto: what led to the extinction of the largest ape in the world? 1

Giganto: what led to the extinction of the largest ape in the world?

With impressive dimensions of almost 3 meters in height and a weight that could reach up to 300 kilos, the largest primates ever recorded in Earth’s history are known as Gigantopithecus blackipopularly called ‘giants‘.

These fascinating creatures inhabited the region that today corresponds to China for a period close to 2 million years.

Despite its prolonged existence and intense research carried out by paleontologists over the decades, the fossil record covers only four jaws and approximately 2 thousand isolated teeth, revealing the scarcity of evidence found to date.

Recently, researchers stated that prehistoric climate changes may have played a crucial role in the extinction of the species, as discussed in an article published in the journal Nature.

It seems that the gigantic monkeys they have not been able to adapt their diets effectively to keep up with rapid changes in the environment.

Giganto: what led to the extinction of the largest ape in the world? 4

Image: Reproduction

What did the Giants eat?

In an interview with the Associated Press, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, a researcher at Southern Cross University in Australia and co-author of the study, emphasized that the giants were of such magnitude that they faced difficulties even in moving around.

Therefore, they climbed trees in search of new food sources, especially when climate change made resources more scarce.

Despite their possible similarity with orangutans Modern apes, which are smaller, these gigantic apes had more selective eating habits compared to modern-day primates.

It is likely that this species fed mainly on fruits and flowers found in its tropical habitat. However, in the absence of these resources, they could have turned to tree parts with low nutritional value.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers analyzed the remains of giants that were discovered in caves in southern China, located between the Yangtze River and the South China Sea.

Using a comprehensive set of techniques, they dated the preserved teeth and sediments from the cavesreflecting a more precise estimate of the primate extinction window, located approximately between 215 thousand and 295 thousand years ago.

Difficulties of the species

To obtain additional data, the researchers also investigated pollen and sediments near the places where the fossils of this species were found, identifying signs of an environmental change at that time.

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The increased intensity of the rainy and dry seasons transformed dense forests into areas interspersed with grasslands, which posed a significant challenge to the gigantos’ survival.

By building a solid understanding of habitatbehavior and chronology of giants, researchers aim to offer additional insights into the extinction events that unfolded in the ancient world.

This approach gains relevance, especially considering the possibility that human activities are driving the planet towards a potential sixth mass extinction.

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