In 1775, Carsten Niebuhr published Descriptiones animalium - avium, amphibiorum, piscium, insectorum, vermium: quæ in itinere orientali observavit, the work of his late friend, the Swedish naturalist Peter Forsskål.
The reticulate whipray is closely related to H. undulata and H. leoparda, which share much of its range.