It was named by paleontologist Adam M. Yates of the University of the Witwatersrand in 2007.

Massopoda is a stem-based taxon, defined as all animals more closely related to Saltasaurus loricatus than to Plateosaurus engelhardti.

[4] The name Massopoda, from Latin massa 'lump'; from Ancient Greek πους (pous) 'foot', is also contraction of Massospondylidae and Sauropoda, two disparate taxa in the clade.

Within the clade, he assigned the families Massospondylidae (which includes the relatively well-known dinosaur Massospondylus) and Riojasauridae (which includes Riojasaurus) as well as the Sauropoda.

[6] The following is a cladogram from an analysis presented by Oliver W. M. Rauhut and colleagues in 2020:[7] Eucnemesaurus Riojasaurus Sarahsaurus Yunnanosaurus Jingshanosaurus Seitaad Coloradisaurus Glacialisaurus Lufengosaurus Massospondylus Adeopapposaurus Leyesaurus Xingxiulong Anchisaurus Leonerasaurus Mussaurus Aardonyx Sefapanosaurus Meroktenos Melanorosaurus Camelotia Lessemsaurus Antetonitrus Ingentia Blikanasaurus Pulanesaura Gongxianosaurus Schleitheimia Isanosaurus Tazoudasaurus Sauropoda