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Great Ape riddle finally solved - 2nd February 2024

A recent academic study has revealed how the planet's greatest ever primate probably became extinct through an inability to conform to environmental shifts.

With its three metre stature and 300 kilogram bulk, ‘Gigantopithecus' thrived in the wooded regions of southern Asia until roughly 200,000 years ago. The riddle of its extinction has long baffled palaeontologists.

The initial conundrum was kickstarted in the 1930s when a scientist stumbled upon a massive molar being marketed as a 'dragon's tooth'. It was quadruple the size of previously discovered primate teeth. Since then, although a further 2000 have been brought to light, despite researchers' best efforts, the cause of Gigantopithecus' extinction has remained elusive.

Zhang Yingqi, an academic at China's Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology, co-authored the report. Various approaches were employed, including the recreation of Gigantopithecus' natural habitat at the time of its existence, and also prior to and subsequent to that point.

Zhang Yingqi: "The cause of Gigantopithecus’s extinction is mainly the stress. Because when the environments changed, the food that Gigantopithecus preferred became less, and less, less, I mean the variety, both the variety and the quantity became less. So Gigantopithecus didn’t have enough food, preferred food to eat ."

Where the orangutan – its closest kin – succeeded, Gigantopithecus was doomed to fail. Hampered by its colossal size, the creature couldn't withstand long treks to forage for alternative nourishment. Professor Zhang concludes that Gigantopithecus' downfall was to rely on the inferior food available, once its primary sources had diminished.

Zhang Yingqi: "So he made a huge mistake by relying on the fall-back food, which is a very fibrous and less nutritious food. So, the population experienced, experienced, experienced chronic long-term stress. So the population became smaller and smaller and finally he went extinct."

As our planet confronts an imminent climate crisis, Gigantopithecus' story is a timely reminder.