Morphometric affinities ofGigantopithecus

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Abstract
Multivariate analyses, supplemented by univariate statistical methods, of measurements from mandibular tooth crown dimensions and the mandible ofGigantopithecus blacki, G. bilaspurensis, Plio‐Pleistocene hominids,Homo erectus, and seven Neogene ape species from the generaProconsul, Sivapithecus, Ouranopithecus, andDryopithecuswere used to assess the morphometric affinities ofGigantopithecus. The results show thatGigantopithecusdisplays affinities toOuranopithecusand to the hominids, particularly the Plio‐Pleistocene hominids, rather than to the apes.Ouranopithecusdemonstrated dental resemblances toG. bilaspurensisand the Plio‐Pleistocene hominids but mandibular similarities to the apes. Results of analyses of tooth and mandibular shape indices, combined with multivariate distance and temporal relationships, suggest thatOuranopithecusis a more likely candidate forGigantopithecusancestry than isSilvapithecus indicus. Shape and allometric differences betweenG. bilaspurensisand the robust australopithecines weaken the argument for an ancestraldescendant relationship between these groups. The results support the hypothesis thatGigantopithecusis an extinct side branch of the Hominidae.

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