Burrer sent the specimen to Professor Eberhard Fraas of the "königliche Stuttgarter Naturalienkabinett". In a lecture on 9 October 1911, Fraas referred to it by the name "Hallopus celerrimus", considering it a jumping form of dinosaur that was approximately long, and was associated with the origin of birds. Later, Fraas decided to use a different name in the official publication. Fraas in 1913 named the genus "Procompsognathus" with as type species, "Procompsognathus triassicus". The type specimen is housed in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany.