Episode Details

An ancient species of great ape likely disappeared hundreds of thousands of years ago when climate change put their favorite fruits out of reach during dry seasons, scientists recently reported.

科学家最近报告说，一种古老的类人猿物种可能在数十万年前就消失了，因为气候变化使它们在旱季无法获得最喜爱的水果。

The species is known as Gigantopithecus blacki. It once lived in southern China. It stood 3 meters tall and weighed up to 295 kilograms. It represents the largest great ape known to scientists.

该物种被称为黑巨猿。 它曾经生活在中国南方。 它高3米，重295公斤。 它代表了科学家已知的最大的类人猿。

“It’s just a massive animal – just really, really big,” said Renaud Joannes-Boyau. He is a researcher at Australia’s Southern Cross University. He helped write the study, which recently appeared in the publication Nature.

“它只是一种巨大的动物——非常非常大，”雷诺·乔安妮-博约说。 他是澳大利亚南十字星大学的研究员。 他帮助撰写了这项研究，该研究最近发表在《自然》杂志上。

But its size may also have been a weakness. Joannes-Boyau said, “When food starts to be scarce, it’s so big it can’t climb trees to explore new food sources.”

但其规模也可能是一个弱点。 乔安妮斯-博约说：“当食物开始短缺时，它就太大了，无法爬上树去探索新的食物来源。”

The huge apes likely looked similar to the modern orangutan. It survived for around 2 million years in the forested land of China’s Guangxiarea. They ate plants that included fruits and flowers --- until the environment began to change.

这些巨大的猿类看起来很可能与现代猩猩相似。 它在中国广西地区的林地里生存了大约200万年。 他们吃植物，包括水果和花朵——直到环境开始改变。

Starting about 600,000 years ago, Guangxi’s forests began producing fewer fruits. The area was experiencing more periods of dry weather. Researchers examined pollen and 

Listen Now