Chamitataxus is known only from a single holotype found in 1935, which consists of a nearly complete skull. The holotype was discovered in a quarry not far from Lyden, New Mexico, where the prehistoric herbivore Osbornoceros was also discovered. Chamitataxus was indeed named after the rock formation it was discovered in, the Chamita Formation. Due to the relative lack of Chamitataxus specimens, much of the research into the genus is based upon research into better represented taxa related to Chamitataxus, such as Taxidea, the modern American badger, which also existed in the Late Miocene.