Megachirella was discovered in the Dont Formation of the area of Braies, in South Tyrol, and described in 2003. It was classified as a member of Lepidosauromorpha, the clade of reptiles that includes lizards, snakes, the tuatara and their closest extinct relatives, at the time. In particular, the fossils show some similarities, mainly in the skull, with some primitive forms such as the Eolacertilia. A phylogenetics analysis in 2013 confirmed that it was a lepidosauromorph closely related to the crown group Lepidosauria.
