(From Anquetin et al. 2017): The holotype of Parachelys eichstaettensis originally belonged to Dr Krantz of Bonn, Germany (Meyer 1864). In 1871, the specimen was purchased by the British Museum as part of the Van Breda Collection (Lydekker 1889b). The original description of Meyer (1864) is based on limited postcranial material of a single individual: some shell fragments, a subcomplete right manus, and the right scapula, coracoid, and humerus. Acetic acid preparation of the holotype in the 1950s revealed additional material, especially a crushed skull and a complete series of cervical vertebrae. As of today, this new material remains undescribed.

Parachelys eichstaettensis was named by von Meyer (1864). Its type specimen is NHMUK OR42888, a partial skeleton (shell fragments, subcomplete right manus, right scapula, coracoid, and humerus), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Solnhofen (BMNH collection), which is in a Tithonian lagoonal/restricted shallow subtidal lime mudstone in the Solnhofen Formation of Germany.