title: Gigantopithecus blacki: a giant ape from the Pleistocene of Asia revisited.
abstract: 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 C3plants, 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.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, People's Republic of China.|Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, 10003.
authors.forename: Yingqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, 10003.
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Harrison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000885:Anthropology, Physical; D001208:Asia; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004032:Diet / Q000266:history; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: China; Pleistocene; dental morphology; hominoid; paleobiology; phylogeny