Gigantopithecus

American  

[jahy-gan-toh-pi-thee-kuhs, -pith-i-kuhs, ji-] / dʒaɪˌgæn toʊ pɪˈθi kəs, -ˈpɪθ ɪ kəs, dʒɪ- /

noun

1. a genus of extinct ape of southern Asia existing during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, known only from very large fossil jaws and teeth and believed to be perhaps the biggest hominoid that ever lived.

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Etymology

Origin of Gigantopithecus

1940–45; < New Latin < Greek gigant- (stem of gígās ) giant + -o- -o- + píthēkos ape

Example Sentences

The samples included both modern and archaic humans such as Neanderthals, early human ancestors like Australopithecus africanus, and extinct great apes including Gigantopithecus blacki.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

Westaway worked to come up with more accurate dates for the sediments that Gigantopithecus fossils have been found in.

From National Geographic • Jan. 10, 2024

If the researchers could work out the timing, then they could better investigate what the world of Gigantopithecus might have been like—and what could have eradicated the ape.

From National Geographic • Jan. 10, 2024

For reasons yet unknown, Westaway says, some of the last Gigantopithecus were among the largest.

From National Geographic • Jan. 10, 2024

Additionally, Luoys notes, fossils of Gigantopithecus have been described from Thailand, Vietnam, and possibly Java.

From National Geographic • Jan. 10, 2024