rieppel (1998) reassigned "s. buzzii" back to its original combination "lariosaurus buzzii", together with another lariosaurine genus "ceresiosaurus". rieppel (1998) found the two species to form a clade with "lariosaurus valceresii", while the other species of "lariosaurus" (incl. the type "l. balsami") formed a second clade, a sister taxon to the first. in 2004, however, this synonymy was objected by hänni who described and named a second species for "ceresiosaurus", and by several other authors since.