Gigantopithecus blacki

In 1935, anthropologist Gustav von Koenigswald came across strange teeth in drug stores in Hong Kong and southern China. Sold as 'dragon teeth' and ground up for use in Chinese medicine, they were special: they were apelike, but huge. Their size suggested that Gigantopithecus blacki was the largest primate ever, towering 3 meters. By piecing together clues from proteins in the enamel of a 1.9myo tooth found in southern China, researchers have evidence that places G. blacki on the primate family tree. The giant ape was most closely related to orangutans. The two lineages probably split off between 10 million and 12 million years ago.

G. blacki became extinct around 100,000 years ago.

Adult male G. blacki are believed to have stood almost 10 feet tall and weighed as much as 600kg, making it three to four times as heavy as modern gorillas and eight times as heavy as the orangutan, its closest living relative. It's thought G. blacki consumed bamboo and other vegetable foods including seeds and fruit. Gigantopithecus blacki is the largest known hominid.