In 1935, the anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald found in a pharmacy in Hong Kong a tooth that corresponded to a much larger primate than all known.
This prompted him to investigate and ended up discovering in the interior of the mainland the remains of a species that he named Gigantopithecus blacki.
It was the biggest primate that ever existed. It measured about three meters and weighed about six hundred kilos, and became extinct some 100,000 years ago, which means that it had time to coexist with human beings.
And news of the discovery of the new prehistoric monkey species inspired filmmakers and adventurers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack to create the legendary ape of their movie King Kong.
But why did this fabulous primate go extinct? A team from the Senckenberg Centers for Human Evolution in Tubingen believes they have found the explanation. As they have published in the journal Quaternary International, it was not able to adapt to environmental changes.
The researchers studied the enamel of this giant monkey's teeth in order to find out data about their diet, and concluded that this giant monkey was a vegetarian. The animal should need large quantities of food daily given its size. Therefore, when the Chinese forests where he lived were transformed into savannahs, he was not able to continue to get enough means for his maintenance and ended up disappearing.
For some reason I wanted to say R.I.P. Harambe when I saw this pic xD
it's just inevitable :p