• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Giant Ape-Like Creatures In The Solomon Islands?

blessmycottonsocks

blessmycottonsocks

Beloved of Ra
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
10,290
Location
Wessex and Mercia
The Solomon Islands comprise an archipelago of 6 main and some 900 smaller islands, to the East of prime Cryptid stomping ground Papua New Guinea. An estimated 70% of the archipelago's rain forest has not been explored by outsiders.
This recent article describes how the indigenous people tell of a race of giant ape-like creatures, covered in long dark or reddish hair, living in the remote forest areas.
The Solomon Anthropological Expedition Trust Board, Inc.'s Research Director, Marius Boirayon, has compiled first-hand tales of giant sightings, including the apparent abduction of a local woman named Mango.

image.jpeg


https://original.newsbreak.com/@new...-roam-the-dark-jungles-of-the-solomon-islands
 
Is there a species of ape unknown to science? Maybe.

Is it a species of hominin? Unlikely but possible.

Taller than modern humans? Very unlikely. On small islands or with limited geographical range, insular dwarfism makes macro fauna tend to evolve to be smaller.

15 feet tall? Not if they are in any sense humanoid. For a given bodyshape, mass increases according to the cube of height; bone and muscle cross section increase according to the square of height. That is why unusually tall humans often need extra assistance to walk.

There may be a species, but a lot of the detail sounds like generic folklore and traveller's tales.
 
Mikefule said:
Is there a species of ape unknown to science? Maybe.

Is it a species of hominin? Unlikely but possible.

Taller than modern humans? Very unlikely. On small islands or with limited geographical range, insular dwarfism makes macro fauna tend to evolve to be smaller.

15 feet tall? Not if they are in any sense humanoid. For a given bodyshape, mass increases according to the cube of height; bone and muscle cross section increase according to the square of height. That is why unusually tall humans often need extra assistance to walk.

There may be a species, but a lot of the detail sounds like generic folklore and traveller's tales.
Click to expand...

I agree that 15 ft sounds ludicrous.
I'd happily settle for a 9ft tall extant gigantopithecus though!

Just happy to raise the profile of the Solomons as potential Cryptid territory,
 
blessmycottonsocks said:
I agree that 15 ft sounds ludicrous.
I'd happily settle for a 9ft tall extant gigantopithecus though!

Just happy to raise the profile of the Solomons as potential Cryptid territory,
Click to expand...
According to that unimpeachable source, Wikipedia, the only known remains of gigantopithecus are teeth and jaws, so all estimates of height are very speculative. It is now typically drawn moving on all fours like a gorilla, which makes sense given its likely mass.
 
Mikefule said:
Is there a species of ape unknown to science? Maybe.

Is it a species of hominin? Unlikely but possible.

Taller than modern humans? Very unlikely. On small islands or with limited geographical range, insular dwarfism makes macro fauna tend to evolve to be smaller.

15 feet tall? Not if they are in any sense humanoid. For a given bodyshape, mass increases according to the cube of height; bone and muscle cross section increase according to the square of height. That is why unusually tall humans often need extra assistance to walk.

There may be a species, but a lot of the detail sounds like generic folklore and traveller's tales.
Click to expand...
It seems to depend on whether they started out as a small or large species.

https://sciencenordic.com/animals-d...animals-shrink-and-small-animals-grow/1435003

However apes are generally regarded as a large mammal. Maybe a small monkey species grown larger?
 
Tunn11 said:
It seems to depend on whether they started out as a small or large species.

https://sciencenordic.com/animals-d...animals-shrink-and-small-animals-grow/1435003

However apes are generally regarded as a large mammal. Maybe a small monkey species grown larger?
Click to expand...
I couldn't read the link. However, my gut feeling is that normally small animals might evolve to be bigger, and normally large animals might evolve to be smaller, but not to extremes. Put simply, a normally small animal would be unlikely to evolve to be bigger than a normally large animal. Or vice versa. You might get rat-like creature as big as a small dog, but not as big as a horse.

We would all like to imagine a 9 foot tall man-ape, but the maths doesn't make it work. Much over 6 or 7 feet tall and it would have to evolve to a different shape or suffer back and joint problems. The tallest man who ever lived was 8'11" (2.72 m) and died aged 22. He needed leg braces to be able to walk.

In order to be 9 ft tall, a "humanoid" would need to be either incredibly skinny and oddly-proportioned (think Slender Man) or go the other way and have squat build with strong legs and probably different configuration of knee joint.

Larger creatures require more food, which means more time spent hunting or foraging, and larger creatures are less able to avoid detection. Remember also that this is not a single individual, but a putative breeding population.
 
Mikefule said:
I couldn't read the link. However, my gut feeling is that normally small animals might evolve to be bigger, and normally large animals might evolve to be smaller, but not to extremes. Put simply, a normally small animal would be unlikely to evolve to be bigger than a normally large animal. Or vice versa. You might get rat-like creature as big as a small dog, but not as big as a horse.

We would all like to imagine a 9 foot tall man-ape, but the maths doesn't make it work. Much over 6 or 7 feet tall and it would have to evolve to a different shape or suffer back and joint problems. The tallest man who ever lived was 8'11" (2.72 m) and died aged 22. He needed leg braces to be able to walk.

In order to be 9 ft tall, a "humanoid" would need to be either incredibly skinny and oddly-proportioned (think Slender Man) or go the other way and have squat build with strong legs and probably different configuration of knee joint.

Larger creatures require more food, which means more time spent hunting or foraging, and larger creatures are less able to avoid detection. Remember also that this is not a single individual, but a putative breeding population.
Click to expand...
Yes, agreed. Maybe there is something there which, as you say, myth and folklore have exaggerated.

I also agree about the mass and gait. I always think the gait of these creatures is important in determining whether they are real or not. Most films don't show the legs/feet. The film of Patty does and that gait to me looks wrong for a man in a suit.

But maybe relic hominins are more likely than apes to survive as they may be more intelligent and devise creative ways to hide from us, which regrettably is probably a sound strategy!
 
Mikefule said:
I couldn't read the link. However, my gut feeling is that normally small animals might evolve to be bigger, and normally large animals might evolve to be smaller, but not to extremes. Put simply, a normally small animal would be unlikely to evolve to be bigger than a normally large animal. Or vice versa. You might get rat-like creature as big as a small dog, but not as big as a horse.

We would all like to imagine a 9 foot tall man-ape, but the maths doesn't make it work. Much over 6 or 7 feet tall and it would have to evolve to a different shape or suffer back and joint problems. The tallest man who ever lived was 8'11" (2.72 m) and died aged 22. He needed leg braces to be able to walk.

In order to be 9 ft tall, a "humanoid" would need to be either incredibly skinny and oddly-proportioned (think Slender Man) or go the other way and have squat build with strong legs and probably different configuration of knee joint.

Larger creatures require more food, which means more time spent hunting or foraging, and larger creatures are less able to avoid detection. Remember also that this is not a single individual, but a putative breeding population.
Click to expand...
I don't buy the Solomon Island stories as they sound like made up tripe mixed with half forgotten myths. But a 9 foot hominin is not impossible if it's muscle and bone structure was not identical to those of humans. Observations seem to indicate much thicker legs that are proportionately shorter than a humans, longer harms, a thicker torso and more massive skeletal structures. The feet appear to be broader with wider heels and no arch. A yeti is not just a scaled up human with fur.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top