Pariotichus was collected by Jacob Boll from the Wichita Group of Texas in 1878 and described by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope in the same year.

Other species of Pariotichus were described, mostly by Cope, that have subsequently been identified as captorhinomorph reptiles (including the well-known Captorhinus aguti) and were reassigned by Case (1911).

[2] One other species, "Pariotichus megalops" is a junior synonym of the dvinosaur temnospondyl Isodectes obtusus.

[4][5] The holotype and only specimen of Pariotichus is a partial skull currently reposited at the American Museum of Natural History.

[6] Below are the results of the analysis by Huttenlocker et al. (2013):[7] Microbrachis Asaphestera Tuditanus Hapsidopareion Saxonerpeton Pantylus Stegotretus Carrolla Batropetes Rhynchonkos Eocaecilia Nannaroter Pelodosotis Micraroter Proxilodon bonneri Tambaroter Huskerpeton englehorni Pariotichus Euryodus dalyae Euryodus primus Cardiocephalus sternbergi Cardiocephalus peabodyi