New Fossil Analysis Unravels the enigma of The True King Kong's Mysterious Extinction, according to Scientists
New fossil analysis in southern China reveals insights into the enigmatic fate of Gigantopithecus, the largest ape ever recorded, standing about 10 feet tall Discover the fascinating timeline and unanswered questions surrounding its mysterious demise
Subscribe to CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter to delve into the universe with updates on intriguing discoveries, scientific progress, and beyond. The legendary colossus, often referred to as "the real King Kong", once stood at almost 10 feet tall and weighed nearly double that of a gorilla. However, the mystery of its disappearance remains one of the greatest enigmas in paleontology.
A century ago, German-Dutch paleontologist G.H.R. von Koenigswald discovered Gigantopithecus blacki from large teeth sold as "dragon bones" at a Hong Kong apothecary. Since then, around 2,000 fossilized teeth and four jawbones from the extinct species have been found in caves in southern China. New research on these rare fossils and the caves where they were discovered is providing further insights into the mysterious extinction of Gigantopithecus.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau, a coauthor of the study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, expressed, "I think the child in us wants to know about these amazing creatures and what happened to them." Joannes-Boyau is a professor in the faculty of science and engineering at Southern Cross University in Australia.
Many of the caves containing Gigantopithecus fossils have been found in Guangxi's distinctive karst landscape.
Yingqi Zhang
The authors suggest that the massive creature became extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago, following a shift to a more seasonal climate that made it difficult for the plant-eating primate to adjust to the changing vegetation.
According to study coauthor Kira Westaway, a professor and geochronologist at Macquarie University in Australia, before Gigantopithecus populations declined due to climate change, the species thrived in a diverse forest environment, primarily feeding on fruit, starting from about 2 million years ago.
"Approximately 600,000 years ago, significant environmental changes led to a decline in the availability of fruit," she explained.
"Giganto consumed less nutritious fallback foods. We have evidence of this from examining the structure of their teeth," Westaway added. "Pits and scratches on the teeth indicate that they were consuming fibrous foods such as bark and twigs from the forest floor."
The researchers climbed up steep karst mountains to reach the caves.
Yingqi Zhang
Detailed timeline
For almost ten years, a group of scientists from China and Australia gathered sediment samples from 22 caves in the Guangxi region of southern China, near the border with Vietnam. Half of the caves yielded Gigantopithecus fossils, while the other half did not.
To accurately date the fossils and sediment, the researchers employed various techniques. Luminescence dating indicated the last time sunlight exposed the sediment and when it was deposited in a cave, while U-series dating pinpointed the uptake of uranium into bone specimens after the animal's death. This analysis assisted the team in constructing a comprehensive timeline of the species' existence.
"The older caves, at 2 million years old, contained hundreds of teeth, while the younger caves around the extinction period only had 3-4 teeth," Westaway explained.
Following this, the team examined pollen traces in the sediment samples to determine the dominant plants and trees in the landscape. Isotope analysis of elements like carbon and oxygen in the Gigantopithecus teeth provided insight into how the animal's diet may have evolved over time.
The team discovered that the giant ape struggled to adapt to changing environmental conditions, leading to chronic stress and a decline in population numbers, according to Westaway.
"We have a more comprehensive timeline for their existence and extinction, as opposed to relying on evidence from just a couple of caves. We have collected samples from 22 caves across a large area and utilized six dating methods to ensure the accuracy of the timeline," she explained.
An excavation at Ma Feng Cave in Guangxi, southern China, the region where the fossils were found.
Kira Westaway/Macquarie University
Questions remain
No complete Gigantopithecus fossils have been discovered and recorded from the neck down, despite the fact that the species inhabited parts of Asia for approximately 2 million years, Westaway noted the surprising lack of such findings.
The authors stated that the giant apes did not reside in caves. They theorized that rodents transported their remains into the caves, often through narrow rock crevices in the unique rocky karst landscape of the region, as described by study coauthor Wang Wei, a professor at the Institute of Cultural Heritage at Shandong University in Qingdao, China.
He explained via email that the teeth or mandibles of great apes went through a complex process of death, decomposition, weathering, transport, and deposition before being embedded in cave sediments. Consequently, only a few of the toughest parts of Gigantopithecus' body would have become fossils throughout geological history.
Due to the scarcity of non-cranial fossils, it is difficult to determine the exact appearance of Gigantopithecus. Its upper molars are 57.8% larger than those of a gorilla, while the lower molars are 33% larger, indicating a body weight of 440 to 660 pounds (200 to 300 kilograms).
The enormous size of the ape suggests that it likely lived on the ground, walking on its knuckles. A study from November 2019 analyzing proteins found in a Gigantopithecus fossil indicated that its closest living relative is the Bornean orangutan.
During the same period that the giant ape inhabited the forests of what is now southern China, Homo erectus, an early human ancestor, was known to have resided in northern China and further south in Indonesia. Scientists have discovered a large number of stone tools dating back to about 800,000 years ago near the Bose Basin, where Gigantopithecus fossils were found. Though there is no direct fossil evidence of H. erectus and the giant ape coexisting in the region, it is plausible that these human ancestors may have encountered the giant ape.
