The REAL Bigfoot: Gigantopithecus Would Have Been Terrifying to our Ancient Ancestors

From legends of Bigfoot to films like Mighty Joe Young, humans seem to have a fascination with giant ape-like creatures. This leads to the question of whether stories about giant apes have a basis in reality. Although the evidence for Bigfoot is ambiguous, there is fossil evidence for very large apes living in the past, particularly Gigantopithecus, a genus that once lived in China and Southeast Asia.

From Ancient Origins:

Discovering an Ancient “Bigfoot”

Gigantopithecus was first discovered when a paleontologist found a molar belonging to a giant ape while examining bones said to be dragon bones in a Chinese apothecary. After the discovery of the molar, hundreds of other teeth were revealed that apparently belonged to a mysterious giant ape with yellowish-stained teeth. Because of the color, it was dubbed “yellow earth fauna.”

In 1956, a jaw belonging to the creature was discovered by a Chinese farmer which gave paleontologists a better understanding of the nature of Gigantopithecus. Since its discovery, scientists have learned much more about this mysterious ape. It probably first evolved about 9 million years ago in China and did not become extinct until about 300,000 years ago, the time of Homo Heidelbergensis . Based on comparison with the tooth size to body size ratio in modern ape species, paleontologists estimate that a member of a Gigantopithecus species could have been up to 10 feet ( meters) tall and probably weighed as much as 1,200 lbs ( kg). For comparison, gorillas usually weigh no more than 400 lbs ( kg).

The range of Gigantopithecus appears to have been restricted to China and Southeast Asia, and parts of India. Based on studies of the teeth, it most likely the creature ate fruit as well as shrubs and grasses, such as bamboo. It is possible that Gigantopithecus had an ecological role similar to that of the giant panda, subsisting primarily on bamboo and supplementing its diet with roots and fruit.

Since only its jaws and teeth have actually been found, it is not possible to determine the exact appearance of Gigantopithecus. Based on its predicted weight, size, and shared ancestry with knuckle-walking apes such as gorillas, paleontologists believe that it was most likely a knuckle-walker with quadrupedal locomotion.

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