The largest ape on record stood almost 3 meters tall and weighed nearly twice as much as a gorilla. Why and when the legendary colossus — which has captivated the popular imagination as “the real King Kong” — disappeared is one of the biggest mysteries in paleontology.

German-Dutch paleontologist G.H.R. von Koenigswald first identified Gigantopithecus blacki about a century ago from large teeth sold as medicinal “dragon bones” at a Hong Kong apothecary. Some 2,000 fossilized teeth and four jawbones from the extinct species have since been unearthed in caves in southern China.

Now, new research on many of these rare fossils and the caves where they were found builds on preliminary evidence, revealing a timeline that sheds more light on the elusive circumstances surrounding the demise of Gigantopithecus.

The authors believe the massive creature went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago, after the climate became more seasonal and the plant-eating primate struggled to adapt to changing vegetation.

Before Gigantopithecus populations dwindled due to climate change, the species flourished starting from about 2 million years ago in a rich and diverse forest environment, primarily eating fruit, said study coauthor Kira Westaway, a professor and geochronologist at Macquarie University in Australia.

“Around (700,000 or) 600,000 years ago we start to see large environmental changes and during that period we see a decline in the availability of fruit,” she explained.

“Giganto (ate) less nutritious fallback foods. We’ve got evidence from looking at the teeth structure,” Westaway added. “Pits and scratches on the teeth suggest it was eating really fibrous food such as bark and twigs from the forest floor.”

Over the course of nearly a decade, the team of Chinese and Australian scientists took sediment samples from 22 caves over a wide area of the Guangxi region in southern China that borders Vietnam. Half of the caves contained Gigantopithecus fossils, while half did not.

First, the researchers obtained accurate dates for the fossils and the sediment using several techniques.

Next, the team analyzed pollen traces in the sediment samples to understand what plants and trees dominated the landscape. Isotope analysis of elements such as carbon and oxygen contained in the Gigantopithecus teeth helped the researchers understand how the animal’s diet may have changed over time.

The team found that the giant ape did not adapt well to changing environmental conditions and displayed chronic stress and dwindling numbers.

(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【灭绝】mièjué extinct having no living members, no longer in existence

【纤维的】xiānwéi de fibrous containing, consisting of, or resembling fibers

有记录以来最大的猿类高近3米，体重几乎是大猩猩的两倍。现实版“金刚”吸引着大众的想象力，这一传说中的庞然大物何时消失、怎么消失，则是古生物学中最大的谜团之一。

大约一个世纪前，德裔荷兰籍古生物学家G.H.R. 冯•科尼格斯瓦尔德通过香港一家药房出售的药用龙骨（巨型牙齿）首次确认了黑猿的身份。此后在中国南方的洞穴中出土了约2000 颗来自这个已灭绝物种的牙齿化石和四块颚骨。

基于这些发现，新研究对这些罕见化石和发现它们的洞穴进行分析，揭示了一个时间线，让人们对巨齿兽灭绝的情形有了更多了解。

研究作者认为，在距今 29.5万年到21.5万年间，气候产生了更明显的季节变化，这种植食性的灵长类巨兽难以适应植被的变化，因此灭绝了。

研究合著者、澳大利亚麦考瑞大学教授兼地球年代学家基拉•韦斯特韦说，在巨猿数量因气候变化而减少之前，该物种从大约200万年前开始在丰富多样的森林环境中繁衍生息，主要吃水果。

她解释说：“大约（70万年或）60万年前，我们开始看到环境巨变，作为食物的水果变少了。巨猿只能吃营养价值较低的替代食物。通过观察牙齿结构我们找到了证据。”

韦斯特韦补充说：“牙齿上的凹坑和划痕表明，它吃的是高纤维食物，比如林地上的树皮树枝。”

在近十年的时间里，由中国和澳大利亚科学家组成的研究小组从中国南部与越南接壤的广西地区的22个洞穴中采集了沉积物样本。其中一半洞穴含有巨猿化石，另一半没有。

首先，研究人员利用多种技术测得化石和沉积物的准确年代。

接下来，研究小组对沉积物样本中的花粉痕迹进行了分析，以了解当时地表的植物和树木构成。对巨猿牙齿中所含的碳、氧等元素进行的同位素分析帮助研究人员了解这种动物的饮食如何随着时间推移而发生变化。

研究小组发现，巨猿不能很好地适应不断变化的环境，在长期环境压力下数量日渐减少。(Translated by Debra)