The first two specimens of Prestosuchus to be described were found at the Weg Sanga site near the town of Sao Pedro do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
One specimen was a partial skeleton including a jaw and snout fragments, and its bones were labelled SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 1-3, 5-11, 28-41, and 49.
This specimen was later designated as the lectotype of Prestosuchus chiniquensis in 1972.
Another specimen, SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 7, consists of the upper part of the hip and sacrum and was designated the paralectotype of the species.
Although Kischlat (2000) assigned the paralectotype hip material to Karamuru vorax, its original referral to P. chiniquensis was upheld by Desojo et al. (
2020) when the specimen was redescribed along with the lectotype.
These two specimens were originally described by von Huene (1938) and are stored at the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology (Bayerische Staatsammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, BSPG) institute of the Bavarian Natural History Collections (Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, or SNSB) in Munich, Germany.

Huene described several more Prestosuchus-like reptiles shortly afterwards, although he did not consider them to be the same species as Prestosuchus chiniquensis.
One specimen, with its fossils labelled as SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 131-139, was given its own genus and species: Procerosuchus celer.
Another specimen, with its fossils labelled SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 13–24, 26–27, and 44–48, was designated as a second species of Prestosuchus, Prestosuchus loricatus.
Some authors have considered both of these specimens to belong to P. chiniquensis, while others have gone as far as to consider not only Procerosuchus celer a separate genus, but also "Prestosuchus" loricatus.
Kischlat (2000) referred to "Prestosuchus" loricatus as Abaporu loricatus, but this name was never formalized and has not been used since.
In the same paper, several Prestosuchus specimens, including the paralectotype of P. chiniquensis and the "Porto Alegre specimen" (i.e. UFRGS-PV-0156-T), were named as a different new genus, Karamuru vorax.
However, this name was also poorly defined and never formalized, so Karamuru vorax is considered a nomen nudum along with Abaporu loricatus.
The first two specimens of Prestosuchus to be described were found at the Weg Sanga site near the town of Sao Pedro do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. One specimen was a partial skeleton including a jaw and snout fragments, and its bones were labelled SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 1-3, 5-11, 28-41, and 49. This specimen was later designated as the lectotype of Prestosuchus chiniquensis in 1972. Another specimen, SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 7, consists of the upper part of the hip and sacrum and was designated the paralectotype of the species. Although Kischlat (2000) assigned the paralectotype hip material to Karamuru vorax, its original referral to P. chiniquensis was upheld by Desojo et al. (2020) when the specimen was redescribed along with the lectotype. These two specimens were originally described by von Huene (1938) and are stored at the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology (Bayerische Staatsammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie, BSPG) institute of the Bavarian Natural History Collections (Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns, or SNSB) in Munich, Germany.
Huene described several more Prestosuchus-like reptiles shortly afterwards, although he did not consider them to be the same species as Prestosuchus chiniquensis. One specimen, with its fossils labelled as SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 131-139, was given its own genus and species: Procerosuchus celer. Another specimen, with its fossils labelled SNSB-BSPG AS XXV 13–24, 26–27, and 44–48, was designated as a second species of Prestosuchus, Prestosuchus loricatus. Some authors have considered both of these specimens to belong to P. chiniquensis, while others have gone as far as to consider not only Procerosuchus celer a separate genus, but also "Prestosuchus" loricatus. Kischlat (2000) referred to "Prestosuchus" loricatus as Abaporu loricatus, but this name was never formalized and has not been used since. In the same paper, several Prestosuchus specimens, including the paralectotype of P. chiniquensis and the "Porto Alegre specimen" (i.e. UFRGS-PV-0156-T), were named as a different new genus, Karamuru vorax. However, this name was also poorly defined and never formalized, so Karamuru vorax is considered a nomen nudum along with Abaporu loricatus.
Prestosuchus