Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of why the largest living ape on Earth went extinct, with new evidence that the giant ape is adapting to climate change.

In a new study published Jan. 10 in the journal Naturescientists say largest known primate Gigantopithecus blacki, It probably went extinct between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago because it was unable to adapt its diet or behavior to environmental changes that began about 700,000 years ago. and endangered the dense forests of modern China.

G. blacki It first appeared about 2 million years ago. It was discovered in 1935 by German paleontologist Gustav von Königswald after he came across molars belonging to the species. Since then, researchers have found thousands of teeth and a few partial jawbones, but never a complete skeleton.

The death of this giant primate, whose height was up to 3 meters and weight was up to 270 kilograms, puzzled paleontologists for a long time because it was one of the few Asian great apes that have recently become extinct. 2.6 centuries. millions of years.

“History G. blacki It is a mystery in paleontology; How did such a powerful creature become extinct at a time when other primates adapted and survived? The unsolved cause of its disappearance has become the Holy Grail of the discipline, paleontologist and co-author Yingqi Zhang, a professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in a statement.

In a new study, scientists analyzed fossilized teeth, pollen records and geological dates to find evidence of the giant ape’s demise and create a detailed timeline of its decline. By using six different dating methods to examine fossils and sediments from 22 cave sites in southern China, scientists were able to date the fossils and establish a complete chronology of the giant ape’s extinction.

They found that 2.3 million years ago, during the Late Middle Pleistocene period (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), the giant ape had a fruit-rich diet and lived in a dense forest. However, around 600,000-700,000 years ago, this habitat began to change and gradually transformed into open grasslands. Pollen and fossil analyzes showed that the climate and vegetation became more seasonal during this period, and water availability became less constant with the onset of dry seasons in the region.

During this time G. blacki This increased the amount of food it needed and meant it was restricted to the forest floor, where it likely ate tree bark when its preferred fruit was not seasonally available. The giant ape also had a smaller geographic foraging range compared to other great apes.

Researchers found that this habitat change and the monkeys’ inability to adapt ultimately led to the end of the species. Previous research suggested that great apes went extinct around 200,000 years ago; but new evidence suggests that the species was already extinct by then. Their numbers rapidly declined 300,000 years ago and disappeared completely between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago.

“We have a much more accurate timeline of when they lived and when they went extinct,” co-author Kira Westaway, a geochronologist at Macquarie University in Australia, told LiveScience. “It seems G. Blacki has chosen an irreversible evolutionary path.”

Westaway said it’s important to understand G. blacki’s demise because there are parallels with environmental conditions on Earth today. “Going back to past unresolved extinctions and identifying their causes helps us understand why some species are more vulnerable and others are more resilient,” he said. “This has major implications for conservation efforts for our living primates such as modern orangutans and mountain gorillas.”