Mesocupes spinosus was named by Ponomarenko (1964). Its type specimen is PIN 2066/2294, an exoskeleton, and it is an impression. Its type locality is Karatau-Mikhailovka (PIN collection 2066), which is in a Callovian/Oxfordian lacustrine - large siltstone in the Karabastau Formation of Kazakhstan.

It was recombined as Mesocupes (Mesocupes) spinosus by Kirejtshuk et al. (2016).