The largest ape on record stood nearly 10 feet tall. New research on cave fossils in southern China has shed light on the mysterious demise of Gigantopithecus.

A giant ape known as Gigantopithecus blacki survived for two million years in the dense forests of China, munching on fruits and leaves. A group of Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest primate to ...

9-foot tall giant ape, gigantopithecus blacki, mysteriously went extinct in China. It failed to adapt to a changing environment, study says.

A massive regional study of 22 caves in southern China explores a species on the brink of extinction between 295,000 ... The demise of the giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki. Nature, 2024; DOI: 10. ...

Artist’s impression of a group of Gigantopithecus blacki in a forest in southern China. Garcia/Joannes-Boyau (Southern Cross University) Giant ‘kings of apes’ once roamed southern China.

The giant apes made the "fatal mistake" of failing to adapt their strict diet, ... An artist's impression of a group of the giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki within a forest scene in southern China.

An artist’s reconstruction of Gigantopithecus blacki, an ape that stood 10 feet tall and went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago. Credit... Garcia/Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University ...

The species Gigantopithecus blacki, which once lived in southern China, represents the largest great ape known to scientists — standing 10 feet tall and weighing up to 650 pounds.

They used to be found in Southeast Asia including southern China between 2 million and 330,000 years ago. But the giant apes disappeared well before humans arrived in the karst plains of today ...