Any proof of King Kong?, page 1

The closest thing to King Kong found by science thus far is the extinct "Gigantopithecus blacki". Here's an article on it Click Pretty big, but not nearly a match for King Kong.

[edit on 1-5-2006 by Xeros]

Originally posted by 1337nessCas
There never lived a monkey that was so big as a dinosaurs?
I mean why not caus maybe in the dinosaurs time he was there

No, there has never been an ape or monkey approaching anything near the size of the large dinosaurs. Dinosaurs lived during a geological period known as the Mesozoic Era, which spanned a period of approximately 180 million years, from 251 million years B.P. to 65 million years B.P. Within the Mesozoic Era, there existed three seperate periods, known as the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. It was during these periods that the dinosaurs evolved, flourished and ultimately died out.

Now, during this time, our mamalian ancestors were extremely small in size. As Nygdan stated, most were about the size of a shrew or a mouse. There simply were no large mammals, apes or otherwise. Small mammals at this time survived by hiding and foraging in the dense undergrowth, avoiding the predations of the dinosaurs which dominated the globe. When the dinosuars died out at the end of the Cretaceous, approximately 65 million years ago, our mammal ancestors suddenly found themselves inheritors of the world. In the periods which followed, they grew rapidly in size, eventually obtaining the diversity and forms we recognise today. Apes, such as gorillas, did not evolve until relatively recently, approximately 15 million years ago (Reference). So, to answer your question, an ape the size of King Kong could not have existed alongside the dinosaurs because there were no mammals of any significant size anywhere on the planet.

Nowhere in the fossil record do we see any evidence of an ape the size of King Kong. Others have mentioned Gigantopithecus, but even this enormous primate stood only 3 metres or so in height. Even though this is about 2-3 times the size of gorillas, which are the largest primates currently known, it falls far short of the 8 metre figure given for Kong. There is simply no fossil evidence for the existence of a primate as large as King Kong. Nor, given the current maximum heights and known fossil heights, is there any expectation that such a creature ever existed.

It also bears pointing out that the dinosaurs which were depicted in the remake of King Kong were significantly larger than their real-life, fossil counter-parts. The V-Rex, for example, which fights Kong, is much larger than Tyrannosaurus Rex ever was (Reference). The film is a story, it's not supposed to be accurate.

Gorillas represent raw, primal power. Gorillas have always been associated with enormous physical strength. A male silverback, for example, is believed to possess the strength of 4 to 8 strong men (Reference). A story about a massive gorilla plays upon this idea, presenting Kong as almost a force of nature, simultaneously feared and revered by the natives of Skull Island. King Kong has always been a story which both encouraged and criticised this myth of gorillas as savage, hulking engines of raw fury and primal power. Earlier versions didn't do it as well, but later versions made a point of highlighting the gentleness balanced with strength which has come to define gorillas.

Despite this, it remains a story. There is no evidence that any primate larger than 3 metres or so has ever existed. Nor do we have a reasonable expectation that this will change in the future. It's a story. Enjoy it, but realise that it's fiction. There have been some amazing and enormous creatures throughout Earth's history, but a massive gorilla just isn't one of them.

[edit on 10/5/06 by Jeremiah25]

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