 The species name "caralomartini" is named in honor of Carlos Martin, the late owner of the Sacaco hacienda and finder of several bones in the Pisco Formation, including the holotype specimen; and "yuacensis" after the village Yauca which is near where the species was found.In 1968, taxonomist Robert Hoffstetter placed undescribed sloth remains into the family Megatheriidae, possibly belonging to the now-defunct subfamily Planopsinae, mainly based on similarities with the ankle bone and femur.Upon species description in 1995, they were moved into the subfamily Nothrotheriinae.