New | Ancient giant ape showed no size difference between sexes, study finds

Males and females of the largest ape species that ever walked the Earth were of a similar size, suggesting they could be closer to humans than previously thought, according to a new study led by mainland scientists.

The mysterious Gigantopithecus Blacki, which some say may have been the model for mythical creatures Big Foot and the Yeti, reached a height of over three metres and weighed up to 540 kilograms. It became extinct suddenly about 100,000 years ago.

In the past, scientists believed that male G.blacki was larger than the female, in line with the characteristics of living non-human primates, such as gorillas: the larger the ape species, the greater the male’s dominance in size.

But the study, led by Dr Zhang Yingqi of the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and including researchers from Japan and the United States, came up with a different picture.

Examination of teeth fossils suggested the size differences between male and female G.blacki were so small that they could almost be ignored, according to the paper in the latest issue of the Journal of Human Evolution.

Zhang’s team measured the precise sizes of all the giant ape’s teeth found in China, including more than 500 that were discovered in recent years.

China has had the largest number of G.blacki fossil discoveries. More than 1,200 of the around 1,400 teeth found worldwide are from China, especially the southern regions of Guangxi, Guizhou and Hubei.