By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
What's The JamWhat's The Jam
  • Home
  • Latest News
    • UK News
    • World News
  • Super ViralHot
  • Lifestyle
    • Health and Fitness
    • Photography
    • Property
  • Humor
  • Celebrity
  • Weird
  • Videos
  • All Topics
    • Babies and Kids
    • Celebrity
    • Comedy and Humor
    • Documentary and Reportage
    • Fails
    • Health and Fitness
    • Holidays and Travel
    • Influencers and Models
    • Latest Videos
    • Life Hacks
    • Lifestyle
    • Nature and Wildlife
    • Pets and Animals
    • Photography
    • Property
    • Real Life
    • Sport
    • Strange and Bizarre
    • Super Viral
    • UK News
    • World News
Search
  • Health and Fitness
  • Holidays and Travel
  • Nature and Wildlife
  • Pets and Animals
  • Photography
  • Babies and Kids
  • Comedy and Humor
  • Fails
  • Real Life
  • Strange and Bizarre
  • Submit News
  • Customize Interests
  • Bookmarks
  • Newsletter
  • Who Are We
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Mystery of extinction of 10ft tall ‘King Kong’ apes solved by boffins
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
What's The JamWhat's The Jam
Aa
  • News
  • World
  • Viral
  • Funny
  • Weird
  • Celebrity
  • DIY
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Videos
Search
  • Home
    • News
    • World
    • Super Viral
    • Videos
  • All Topics
    • Babies and Kids
    • Celebrity
    • Comedy and Humor
    • Documentary and Reportage
    • Fails
    • Health and Fitness
    • Holidays and Travel
    • Influencers and Models
    • Life Hacks
    • Lifestyle
    • Nature and Wildlife
    • Pets and Animals
    • Photography
    • Property
    • Real Life
    • Sport
    • Strange and Bizarre
  • Quick Links
    • Customize Interests
    • Bookmarks
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of use
    • Write For Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
An illustration of a group of G. Blacki in a forest in Southern China, before extinction of 10ft tall ‘King Kong’ apes.
World News

Mystery of extinction of 10ft tall ‘King Kong’ apes solved by boffins

Chloe Cawood
Last updated: 2024/01/11 at 1:39 PM
Chloe Cawood
Share
5 Min Read
An illustration of a group of G. Blacki in a forest in Southern China. (Picture: Jam Press)
SHARE

The mystery extinction of 10-foot-tall ‘King Kong’ apes has been solved by boffins.

The giant beasts are thought to be the largest primate on earth ever.

They weighed 250kg – the same as a fully-grown alligator.

The huge mammals – that are distant relatives to humans – once lived in southern China.

- Advertisement -

But they went extinct before humans arrived in the region around two million years ago.

The extinct ape, also known as ‘Gigantopithecus blacki’ disappeared because they were unable to adapt to their environment.

However, the only fossils scientists were able to find were 2000 fossilised teeth and four jawbones.

This left little evidence of their existence and a gap in knowledge.

It was unclear on the timeline of the giant apes’ extinction.

- Advertisement -

The fossils were found in several cave sites across southern China.

READ MORE: Astronomers stunned after discovering rare energy burst in bizarre place

An illustration of a group of G. Blacki in a forest in Southern China, before extinction of 10ft tall ‘King Kong’ apes.
An illustration of a group of G. Blacki in a forest in Southern China. (Picture: Jam Press)

New evidence, uncovered by a team of Chinese, Australian and US researchers have now found that the largest primate to walk the earth went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago.

- Advertisement -

However, they were unable to adapt their food preferences and behaviours and vulnerable to the changing climates.

This led to their extinction.

Professor Yingqi Zhang, from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said: “The story of G. blacki is an enigma in palaeontology – how could such a mighty creature go extinct at a time when other primates were adapting and surviving?

”The unresolved cause of its disappearance has become the Holy Grail in this discipline.”

“The IVPP has been excavating for G. blacki evidence in this region for over 10 years but without solid dating and a consistent environmental analysis, the cause of its extinction had eluded us.”

The large-scale project involved collecting evidence from 22 cave sites spread across a wide region of Guangxi Province in southern China.

Six different techniques were applied to the cave sediments and fossils to work out the dates.

This produced 157 radiometric ages.

These were combined with eight sources of environmental and behavioural evidence and applied to 11 caves containing evidence of G. blacki.

They also applied this to another 11 caves of a similar age range where no G. blacki evidence was found.

The main technique used is known as Luminescence dating – which measures a light-sensitive signal found in the burial sediments that encased the giant ape fossils.

This is supported by uranium-series (US) and electron-spin resonance (US-ESR) dating of the G. blacki teeth themselves.

READ MORE: UFO shaped MILLENNIUM FALCON could actually be from galaxy far, far away, experts say

The findings found that the apes went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago.

But before this time, the 10 ft apes flourished in a rich and diverse forest.

This is earlier than previously assumed.

700,000 to 600,000 years ago, the environment became more variable due to the increase in the strength of the seasons.

This subsequently caused a change in the structure of the forest communities.

However, Orangutans – who are a close relative of the apes – adapted their size, behaviour and habitat preferences as conditions changed.

In comparison, G. blacki relied on a less nutritious backup food source when its preferences were unavailable, decreasing the diversity of its food.

They then became less mobile and faced chronic stress – leading to their extinction.

Professor Zhang added: “G. blacki was the ultimate specialist, compared to the more agile adapters like orangutans, and this ultimately led to its demise.”

Associate Professor Westaway says: “With the threat of a sixth mass extinction event looming over us, there is an urgent need to understand why species go extinct.

“Exploring the reasons for past unresolved extinctions gives us a good starting point to understand primate resilience and the fate of other large animals, in the past and future.”

READ MORE: ‘Beowulf’ book returned to library after 54 years – accruing £790 in fines

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • X

Have a story to tell? Hello@whatsthejam.com
TAGGED: animals, mysterious, news, Science

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
[mc4wp_form]
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article the rare energy burst detected by Hubble Space Telescope left Astronomers stunned. Astronomers stunned after discovering rare energy burst in bizarre place
Next Article The Inbetweeners fan replica car now available for sale. Inbetweeners fan selling replica car from show for £650 – but the windscreen is cracked
Leave a comment Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

235.3k Followers Like
69.1k Followers Follow
11.6k Followers Pin
56.4k Followers Follow
136k Subscribers Subscribe
4.4k Followers Follow
- Advertisement -
Ad imageAd image

Latest News

London Zoo celebrates a baby boom with 18 Humboldt penguin chicks, as seven make their splashy debut at Penguin Beach in a boost for global conservation efforts.
Baby penguins take their first swim during UK heatwave
Pets and Animals 11 July 2025
Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium is saved by a mystery investor after facing closure, with plans to reopen in a new venue and continue delighting cat lovers under new leadership.
London’s famous cat café is coming back ‘better than ever’ as ‘well-loved’ CUSTOMER swoops in to become angel investor
UK News 11 July 2025
A mama bear and her cubs stunned Alaska tourists by approaching after fleeing a male bear, in a rare calm encounter captured by veteran guide Casey Cooper.
Mama bear and cubs befriend tourists after being chased by aggressive male
Nature and Wildlife 11 July 2025
White-tailed eagle dubbed Kinky stuns experts by surviving a broken wing and harsh winter, thanks to devoted parents and his own resilience, spotted soaring over Mull.
Eagle which broke wing dubbed a miracle after being nursed by back to health for over a year by devoted parents
Nature and Wildlife 11 July 2025

You Might also Like

London Zoo celebrates a baby boom with 18 Humboldt penguin chicks, as seven make their splashy debut at Penguin Beach in a boost for global conservation efforts.
Pets and Animals

Baby penguins take their first swim during UK heatwave

11 July 2025
Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium is saved by a mystery investor after facing closure, with plans to reopen in a new venue and continue delighting cat lovers under new leadership.
UK News

London’s famous cat café is coming back ‘better than ever’ as ‘well-loved’ CUSTOMER swoops in to become angel investor

11 July 2025
A mama bear and her cubs stunned Alaska tourists by approaching after fleeing a male bear, in a rare calm encounter captured by veteran guide Casey Cooper.
Nature and Wildlife

Mama bear and cubs befriend tourists after being chased by aggressive male

11 July 2025
White-tailed eagle dubbed Kinky stuns experts by surviving a broken wing and harsh winter, thanks to devoted parents and his own resilience, spotted soaring over Mull.
Nature and Wildlife

Eagle which broke wing dubbed a miracle after being nursed by back to health for over a year by devoted parents

11 July 2025
Princess Diana’s unwashed lab coat from a 1992 factory visit, left behind the day her separation was announced, has sold for £4,500 after decades hidden in a wardrobe.
UK News

Lab coat worn by Princess Diana the day of her separation from Prince Charles sells for £4,500

11 July 2025
A TikTok showing UK holidaymakers’ tans after a Spain trip went viral with 895K views, sparking criticism despite claims they used factor 50 suncream and stayed cautious.
Holidays and Travel

Brit holidaymaker and girl pals slammed for their ‘sunburn’ after posing for before and after airport snaps

11 July 2025
Oscar Hinojosa turns film icons into pocket-sized stars using Photoshop, delighting fans with mini celebrity edits inspired by his tiny dog and a whimsical brownie-fueled idea.
Comedy and Humor

Artist turns celebs into hilarious pint-sized movie stars – and Dua Lipa’s a fan

11 July 2025
Greedy seagulls ambushed students' seaside picnic in Brighton, snatching crisps and sandwiches in a chaotic food raid captured in dramatic photos by a beachgoer.
UK News

Seagulls attack students having picnic on beach

11 July 2025
//

What’s The Jam is your one stop website for the latest viral and weird news from around the world.

 
Have a story to tell? Hello@whatsthejam.com

Quick Link

  • Customize Interests
  • Bookmarks
  • Write for Us
  • Newsletter
  • About Us

Top Categories

  • UK News
  • World News
  • Latest Videos
  • Lifestyle
  • Super Viral

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

[mc4wp_form]

What's The JamWhat's The Jam
Follow US
© 2023 What's The Jam. All Rights Reserved.
Go to mobile version
adbanner
AdBlock Detected
Our site is an advertising supported site. Please whitelist to support our site.
Okay, I'll Whitelist
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?