In identifying the remains as those of Palaeoscincus, Broom basically classified Paranthodon as an ankylosaurian, a statement backed by the research of Coombs. Nopcsa however, identified the genus as a stegosaurid, which most modern studies agree with. In 1981, the genus was reviewed, and found to be a valid genus of stegosaurid. Paranthodon is one of a few genera found in the Kirkwood Formation; other such taxa include theropods, like Nqwebasaurus; ornithopods; and sauropods, like Algoasaurus.