An unusually large theropod dinosaur tooth from the Kirkwood Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of South Africa

The basal part of the crown is described for a very large theropod dinosaur tooth that probably came from the Kirkwood Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. It originated from an animal as large, or possibly larger, than Tyrannosaurus rex, and thus probably represents a new taxon for the Kirkwood fauna and the largest theropod from that fauna. Examination of the fossil record indicates that very large theropods, approximating the size of Tyrannosaurus rex, occurred from the Callovian through the Maastrichtian. Such very large forms apparently evolved sequentially in several theropod clades.