Gigantopithecus

Gigantopithecus is the name given to an extinct ape discovered by G. H. R. von Koenigswald, in 1935. The two species,Gigantopithecus blacki (named after Koenigswald's late friend and colleague Davidson Black) and G. giganteus (formerly bilaspurensis), are known primarily by teeth and jaws. The first tooth (as [Page 1080]well as many of the more than 1,000 found after the original discovery) was discovered in a Hong Kong apothecary, where traditional Chinese pharmacists use fossils, referred to as “dragon bones,” in medicinal recipes.

Source: © Russell L. Ciochon.

As the name implies, these fossil apes were enormous. Based on the teeth and ...