Asfaltovenator

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Theropoda > Neotheropoda > Tetanurae > Avetheropoda > Carnosauria (?) > Allosauroidea (?) > Allosauridae (?)

Overview: Much debate surrounds the exact classification of this carnivorous theropod, but how it winds up being so may prove significant. Asfaltovenator had an odd mix of derived and basal traits, with basically all researchers in agreement that it was a tetanuran and probably a carnosaur. Some parts of its body – its forelimbs, hands, pelvis and teeth – were quite megalosauroid-like, suggesting it was related to Megalosaurus and its kin. However, the animal’s skull, jaws and vertebrae appear similar to those of allosauroid theropods, such as Allosaurus or Neovenator. This has caused some confusion in regards to the traditional way tetanuran theropods are classified. Megalosauroids had been seen as a distinct group of families (such as megalosaurids and spinosaurids) that likely branched off quite early from the lineage leading to the allosauroids. Asfaltovenator, however, had traits suggesting the Megalosauroidea wasn’t a single valid group, but merely separate families that led up to the Allosauroidea. Asfaltovenator may’ve been related to the common ancestor of both the traditional megalosauroids and the dinosaurs classified as allosauroids, including Allosaurus.

Anatomically, Asfaltovenator was very similar to Allosaurus in its appearance. In life, they may’ve been hard to distinguish. Asfaltovenator, like Allosaurus, had a pair of crests along the length of its snout, peaking in front of the eyes, which were likely used for visual display. Studies done in 2024 and 2025 have even suggested Asfaltovenator was more derived than previously believed, placing it not as a basal carnosaur, but within the family Allosauridae specifically. The exact classification of this genus remains unstable. Asfaltovenator was decently large, at seven or eight meters long, with a light, but still powerful physique. It had short, strong arms equipped with three claws. Fossil material of the animal is known from the rocks of Argentina’s Cañadón Asfalto Formation, which is the inspiration for its generic name, chosen in its 2019 description. Asfaltovenator is likely to have been the top land predator in its local environment, though it did coexisted with a smaller predator called Piatnitzkysaurus. Potential prey may’ve included the sauropod Patagosaurus. Asfaltovenator is based on a decent amount of fossil material, first discovered in the early to mid-2000’s.