在1903年,約翰·貝爾·海徹爾(John Bell Hatcher)將Edwin Delfs發現的化石,命名為新屬簡棘龍(Haplocanthus),意為「單一的棘」,意指每節脊椎的單一神經棘;模式種是原簡棘龍(H. priscus)。就在在同一年,海徹爾發現棘魚綱的一屬已使用這個名稱,因此將簡棘龍的屬名從Haplocanthus改為Haplocanthosaurus,意為「具有單棘的蜥蜴」[5]。
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^Whitlock, J.A. (2011). "A phylogenetic analysis of Diplodocoidea (Saurischia: Sauropoda)." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Article first published online: 12 Jan 2011. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2010.00665.x