Paleogeographical significance of carcharodontosaurid teeth from the late Early Cretaceous of Ruyang, Henan Province of central China

Abstract

Four carcharodontosaurid teeth from the Cretaceous deposits of Ruyang County, Henan Province of central China are described in detail. The discovery of these large teeth indicates that some of the largest predatory dinosaurs coexisted with the gigantic plant-eating dinosaurs of this fauna, and these predators were likely the top consumers in the food chain. The teeth also further corroborate the biogeographic model by previous researchers that the carcharodontosaurids were broadly distributed rather than restricted to Gondwana, and this report expands the known non-Gondwanan record of the clade. Gigantic sauropod dinosaurs such as Ruyangosaurus and Huanghetitan ruyangensis were also found in the same area.

Keywords::

• carcharodontosaurid teeth
• late Early Cretaceous
• Henan Province
• China

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Dale Winkler for his excellent suggestions when reviewing the first draft of this MS, and Dr Steve Brusatte for reviewing a later draft.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41272022], the project from China Geological Survey [grant number 12120114026801], and study of the dinosaur fauna from western and southern Henan Province (2006).