ðə dʒˈɛnəs wʌz kɹiːˈeɪɾᵻd ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹɾi θɹˈiː baɪ ðə dˈʌtʃ zuːˈɑːlədʒˌɪst kˌoʊɛnɹˈɑːd dʒˈeɪkəb tˈɛmɪŋk wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd sˈɛvənhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti ˈeɪt dˈæʃ wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd fˈɪfti ˈeɪt ænd hɪz stˈuːdənt, ðə dʒˈɜːmən ˌɪkθɪˈɑːlədʒˌɪst hˈɜːmən ʃlˈɛdʒəl wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd fˈoːɹ dˈæʃ wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd ˈeɪɾi fˈoːɹ ænd wʌz ɚɹˈɪdʒɪnəli dᵻskɹˈaɪbd wɪðˌaʊt ˌɛni spˈiːsiːz ʌntˈɪl blˈiːkɚɹ ˈædᵻd ðɪs spˈiːsiːz.
The genus was created in 1843 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778-1858) and his student, the German ichthyologist Hermann Schlegel (1804-1884) and was originally described without any species until Bleeker added this species.