The holotype, USNM 4753, was discovered by Nelson Horatio Darton in 1896 within a layer of the Lakota Formation. The type species O. depressus was previously referred to as Camptosaurus depressus, and was first described in 1909 by Charles W. Gilmore.[2][1] It was assigned to the genus Planicoxa as Planicoxa depressa in 2008.[3] In 2011, it was assigned to the new genus Osmakasaurus.[1]
^Gilmore, C.W. (1909). "Osteology of the Jurassic reptile Camptosaurus, with a revision of the species of the genus, and description of two new species". Proceedings of the U.S. National Museum. 332.
^Carpenter, K.; Wilson, Y. (2008). "A New Species of Camptosaurus (Ornithopoda: Dinosauria) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, and a Biomechanical Analysis of Its Forelimb". Annals of Carnegie Museum. 76 (4): 227. doi:10.2992/0097-4463(2008)76[227:ANSOCO]2.0.CO;2.