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

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.