GIGANTOPITHECUS blacki

Gigantopithecus partial jaw replica. Based on the fossil evidence, it is believed that adult male gigantopithecus blacki stood about 10 feet (3 meters) tall and weighed as much as 1200 pounds (545 kg), making the species two to three times heavier than modern gorillas and nearly five times heavier than the orangutan, its closest living relative. The species was highly sexually dimorphic, with adult females roughly half the weight of males. Due to wide interspecies differences in the relationship between tooth and body size, some argue that it is more likely that gigantopithecus was much smaller, at roughly 6 feet tall.

Evidence of a separate species, Gigantopithecus giganteus, has been found in northern India and China. In the Guangxi region of China, teeth of this species were discovered in limestone formations in Daxin and Wuming, north of Nanning. Despite the name, it is believed that giganteus was approximately half the size of blacki.

Gigantopithecus was probably a quadruped and an herbivore, existing on a diet primarily of bamboo, possibly supplemented with seasonal fruits. However, recent theory suggests it was a generalist in its eating habits.[citation needed] Although it is not known why Gigantopithecus died out, researchers believe that climate change and resource competition with better adapted species were the main culprits.