For many years, Eichstaettisaurus was known from the single specimen of E. schroederi until Cretaceous-aged remains were found elsewhere in Europe.
In 2000, Susan Evans and colleagues described a small lizard specimen in the Berriasian–Valanginian aged locality of Montsec in Catalonia, Spain.
Despite its poor preservation, the specimen was clearly distinct from the more common lizard in the locality, Meyasaurus; Evans and colleagues suggested that it held affinities to Eichstaettisaurus.

In 2004, Evans and colleagues reported even younger remains of Eichstaettisaurus, which originated from the Albian-aged La Cavere outcrop in the locality of Pietraroia, which is located in the Matese Mountains of southern Italy.
A specimen catalogued as MPN 19457 formed the type specimen of a new species, E. gouldi, which they named after the late biologist Stephen Jay Gould; it is a skeleton preserved bottom-side-up, which includes the skull and parts of the vertebral column and limbs.
A second specimen consists of a disarticulated skull, which is preserved as part of the gut contents of an indeterminate rhynchocephalian catalogued as MPN A01/82.
Both specimens are stored in the Museum of Palaeontology at the University of Naples (MPN).
For many years, Eichstaettisaurus was known from the single specimen of E. schroederi until Cretaceous-aged remains were found elsewhere in Europe. In 2000, Susan Evans and colleagues described a small lizard specimen in the Berriasian–Valanginian aged locality of Montsec in Catalonia, Spain. Despite its poor preservation, the specimen was clearly distinct from the more common lizard in the locality, Meyasaurus; Evans and colleagues suggested that it held affinities to Eichstaettisaurus.
In 2004, Evans and colleagues reported even younger remains of Eichstaettisaurus, which originated from the Albian-aged La Cavere outcrop in the locality of Pietraroia, which is located in the Matese Mountains of southern Italy. A specimen catalogued as MPN 19457 formed the type specimen of a new species, E. gouldi, which they named after the late biologist Stephen Jay Gould; it is a skeleton preserved bottom-side-up, which includes the skull and parts of the vertebral column and limbs. A second specimen consists of a disarticulated skull, which is preserved as part of the gut contents of an indeterminate rhynchocephalian catalogued as MPN A01/82. Both specimens are stored in the Museum of Palaeontology at the University of Naples (MPN).
Eichstaettisaurus