Asfaltovenator

Due to Asfaltovenator possessing both primitive and derived characters within Tetanurae, its inclusion in the phylogenetic analysis disrupted current views of tetanuran phylogeny, with the analysis recovering Asfaltovenator as a basal allosauroid between piatnitzkysaurids and metriacanthosaurids, and traditional Megalosauroidea as a paraphyletic grade leading to Allosauroidea. The unique combination of characteristics seen in Asfaltovenator may also indicate that megalosauroids and allosauroids shared a common ancestor not shared with coelurosaurs, another tetanuran group.^[2]

In 2024, Andrea Cau suggested a different position within Megalosauroidea, as a sister taxon of Sciurumimus and/or within a larger stem group.^[6] In the same year, a study by Oliver Rauhut and colleagues included Asfaltovenator within Allosauridae based on their phylogenetic analysis.^[7] The ongoing osteology notified also this position, also recovering it in a clade with Allosaurus in some trees or as an early branching allosauroid of some kind. A monophyletic Carnosauria is not recovered, and the other Cañadón Asfalto tetanurans are not closely related to Asfaltovenator.^[5] In 2025, the description of Tameryraptor also found Asfaltovenator in Allosauridae in some of their phylogenetic analyses, but this depended on the phylogenetic protocol used.^[8]

The Chacritas Member hosted volcanic-influenced soda lake (Example from modern California), while nearby environments hosted varied floral belts from coastal Cheirolepidaceous forests to highland Podocarps (Modern Equivalent from New Zealand), a rift area with nearby volcanic influence of the Chon Aike Province

The holotype of Asfaltovenator comes from the Chacritas Member of the Cañadón Asfalto Formation. This member is mostly made up of two major depositional settings: lacustrine and fluvial deposits. Both of these have intervals of tuffaceous materials, suggesting the presence of volcanic activity.^[9] Palustrine littoral environment levels are seen at Cerro Cóndor and Estancia Fossati, characterized by the presence of lacustrine limestones interbedded with shales, tuffs and sandstones.^[10] The lacustrine section has been called the "Chacritas Paleolake", and seems to have been a rather saline or even hypersaline hydrologically closed pan lake, shallow in depth, with marginal zones and palustrine subenvironments made of low-energy ramp-like margins.^[11][12]

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (TOAE), recently been recognized as a key driver of Jurassic dinosaur evolution, linked to volcanic eruptions in the Karoo-Ferrar region that caused multiple extinction pulses. While well-studied in marine invertebrates, the event's impact on terrestrial vertebrates, particularly tetanuran theropods, is less understood. However, evidence suggests the TOAE triggered rapid diversification in these groups as seen with the presence of Asfaltovenator and other Averostrans in Middle Toarcian strata.^[2] This surge in morphological evolution, followed by a decline in the Middle Jurassic, aligns with patterns seen after other extinction events. Ecological release after the TOAE likely facilitated this rapid evolution, though reconstructing lineage relationships is challenging due to high homoplasy and incomplete fossil records.^[2]