Ochetellus glaber was originally described as Hypoclinea glabra by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in his "Myrmecologische studien", an 1862 article published in the Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien [REF].
Three subspecies of O. glaber are recognised: O. glaber clarithorax,[REF] O. glaber consimilis[REF] and O. glaber sommeri [REF].