"Ampelosaurus" was originally found near the commune of Campagne-sur-Aude in the Aude département of France. It was recovered in the lower levels of the Marnes Rouges Inférieures Formation, which belong to the early Maastrichtian epoch of the Late Cretaceous Period, ~ 70 million years ago. These sediments represent an ancient floodplain with numerous river channels. French paleontologist Jean Le Loeuff first described and named this dinosaur in 1995. "Ampelosaurus" is derived from the Greek "αμπελος", "the vine" and the Latinised Greek "saurus", "reptile". Therefore, "Ampelosaurus" means "vineyard lizard" after the Blanquette de Limoux vineyard. The vineyard is located on the south side of the region "Ampelosaurus" was found in. The specific name is based on the Latin "atax", the "Aude river".