Barberenia araujoae was named by Bonaparte (1990). Its type specimen is MACN-RN 166, a tooth (left upper molar), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cerrito del Mamifero, Los Alamitos vertebrates, middle section, which is in a Campanian/Maastrichtian lacustrine - large lime mudstone in the Los Alamitos Formation of Argentina.

It was synonymized subjectively with Brandonia intermedia by Kielan-Jaworowska et al. (2004).