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Taxonomy
Gigantopithecus was named by von Koenigswald (1935). Its type is Gigantopithecus blacki.
It was assigned to Dryopithecinae by Simons and Chopra (1969); to Ramapithecinae by Pilbeam et al. (1977) and Kay (1982); and to Pongidae by McKenna and Bell (1997).
It was assigned to Dryopithecinae by Simons and Chopra (1969); to Ramapithecinae by Pilbeam et al. (1977) and Kay (1982); and to Pongidae by McKenna and Bell (1997).
Species
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1935 | Gigantopithecus von Koenigswald p. 874 |
| 1969 | Gigantopithecus Simons and Chopra p. 3 |
| 1977 | Gigantopithecus Pilbeam et al. p. 694 |
| 1982 | Gigantopithecus Kay p. 209 |
| 1997 | Gigantopithecus McKenna and Bell |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
G. †Gigantopithecus von Koenigswald 1935
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†Gigantopithecus bilaspurensis Simons and Chopra 1969
†Gigantopithecus blacki von Koenigswald 1935
†Gigantopithecus giganteus Pilgrim 1915
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| E. L. Simons and S. R. K. Chopra 1969 | (modified from Simons and Pilbeam 1965,
3 p. 134-5). Largest genus of dryopithecine. Exhibits markedly reduced lower incisors and somewhat reduced and low-crowned canines. Simian shelf typically shorter (front to back), relative to absolute mandibular size, than in most modern apes; cross-section similar to that of Australopithecus robustus. Greatest length of symphyseal section shorter (in both presumed male and female Gigantopithecus), relative to an absolute size index combining length of P3 — M3 and depth and breadth of mandible at M2, than is typical of gorillas including G. g. beringei both male and female. Mandible deeper and more robust, relative to tooth size, than in any other ape and typically increasing in vertical height of hori- zontal ramus posteriorly. Incisors crowded between canines, verti- cally emplaced and with as small a bicanine breadth, relative to the length of cheek-teeth ( P 3 — M 3 ) , as in A. robustus. Lower canine crowns comparatively reduced and vertically implanted rather than flaring out laterally as is typical of a majority of Recent apes, i.e. in hominids canine roots are typically more than twice the length of unworn crown. Lower premolars only slightly heteromorphic with distinct internal cusps (metaconids) on P3 as well as P4 and with relative reduction of anterolateral face of P3 correlative with distinct shortening and size reduction of upper canine compared to other apes. Molars absolutely larger than in any other extinct hominoid genus; larger than in most gorillas. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Lillegraven 1979, Nowak 1991, Ji et al. 2002, Carroll 1988, Hendy et al. 2009 | |||||
Age range: base of the Late/Upper Miocene to the top of the Middle Pleistocene or 11.60800 to 0.12900 Ma
Collections (10 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Miocene | India (Himachal Pradesh) | G. bilaspurensis (188839) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | China (Guanxi) | G. sp. (230994) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | China (Hubei) | G. sp. (36208) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | China ( Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) | G. blacki (214689) | |
| Early/Lower Pleistocene | China (Guangxi) | G. blacki (230325) | |
| Middle Pleistocene | Vietnam | G. sp. (108001) | |
| Middle Pleistocene | China (Guangxi) | G. blacki (235739 235740) G. sp. (38649) | |
| Middle Pleistocene | Vietnam (Lang Son) | G. blacki (92781) |