Turiasauria was originally erected by Royo-Torres et al. (2006) to include Turiasaurus, Galvesaurus and Losillasaurus, all of which hail from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) of Spain.

The clade is diagnosed by the presence of vertical neural spines, posterior centroparapohyseal laminae on the dorsal vertebrae, the absence of pre- and postspinal laminae on the dorsal vertebrae, the absence of a scapular acromial crest, the presence of a prominent humeral deltopectoral crest, medial deflection of the proximal end of the humerus, and a distinct vertical ridge on the caudal side of the distal half of the ulna.

Turiasaurs were initially considered confined to Europe, with Turiasaurus from Spain and Zby from Portugal,[8] and the tooth taxa Cardiodon, Neosodon, and Oplosaurus were referred to the clade, but additional members were found in North America and Africa.

[3] Remains of a very large species of turiasaur, not yet formally identified, have recently been unearthed from the earliest Cretaceous (Berriasian) aged Angeac-Charente bonebed in western France.

[12] Turiasaurus demonstrates that the evolution of enormous body size was not restricted to neosauropod clades such as the Diplodocidae and Titanosauria, but developed independently at least once in a lineage of more basal sauropods, the turiasaurians.