In a 2004 study, Robert Bakker and Gary Bir suggested that "Ceratosaurus" was primarily specialized in aquatic prey such as lungfish, crocodiles, and turtles. As indicated by a statistical analysis of shed teeth from 50 separate localities in and around Como Bluff, teeth of both "Ceratosaurus" and megalosaurids were most common in habitats in and around water sources such as wet floodplains, lake margins, and swamps. "Ceratosaurus" also occasionally occurred in terrestrial localities. Allosaurids, however, were equally common in terrestrial and aquatic habitats. From these results, Bakker and Bir concluded that "Ceratosaurus" and megalosaurids must have predominantly hunted near and within water bodies, with "Ceratosaurus" also feeding on carcasses of larger dinosaurs on occasion. The researchers furthermore noted the long, low, and flexible body of "Ceratosaurus" and megalosaurids. Compared to other Morrison theropods, "Ceratosaurus" showed taller neural spines on the foremost tail vertebrae, which were vertical rather than inclined towards the back. Together with the deep chevron bones on the underside of the tail, they indicate a deep, "crocodile-like" tail possibly adapted for swimming. On the contrary, allosaurids feature a shorter, taller, and stiffer body with longer legs. They would have been adapted for rapid running in open terrain and for preying upon large herbivorous dinosaurs such as sauropods and stegosaurs, but as speculated by Bakker and Bir, seasonally switched to aquatic prey items when the large herbivores were absent. However, this theory was challenged by Yun in 2019, suggesting Ceratosaurus was merely more capable of hunting aquatic prey than other theropods of the Morrison Formation then