I know this article is from November of 2019, but I felt it was still interesting and worthy of sharing here.
Scientists Now Know Where the Largest Ape to Ever Exist Sits in Primate
Proteins from a 1.9 million-year-old molar show that the 10-foot-tall ‘Gigantopithecus’ is a distant relative to modern orangutans
Western scientists first learned about extinct giant ape species Gigantopithecus blacki—the largest primate to ever exist—in 1935 when an anthropologist came across some of its massive molars in Chinese drug stores selling them as dragon teeth. Since then, researchers have identified thousands of teeth and a few partial jawbones from the creature. With these pieces in hand, they’ve tried to fit the bigfoot-like ape into the primate family tree. Without any usable DNA, however, the task has been difficult.
Now, using proteins in dental enamel, researchers report they've finally found how the Gigantopithecus fits into the great ape puzzle, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
Scientists Now Know Where the Largest Ape to Ever Exist Sits in Primate Family Tree | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine.
Scientists Now Know Where the Largest Ape to Ever Exist Sits in Primate
Proteins from a 1.9 million-year-old molar show that the 10-foot-tall ‘Gigantopithecus’ is a distant relative to modern orangutans
Western scientists first learned about extinct giant ape species Gigantopithecus blacki—the largest primate to ever exist—in 1935 when an anthropologist came across some of its massive molars in Chinese drug stores selling them as dragon teeth. Since then, researchers have identified thousands of teeth and a few partial jawbones from the creature. With these pieces in hand, they’ve tried to fit the bigfoot-like ape into the primate family tree. Without any usable DNA, however, the task has been difficult.
Now, using proteins in dental enamel, researchers report they've finally found how the Gigantopithecus fits into the great ape puzzle, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
Scientists Now Know Where the Largest Ape to Ever Exist Sits in Primate Family Tree | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine.