 Dutch ichthyologist Pieter Bleeker originally described the Borneo shark as "Carcharias (Prionodon) borneensis" in an 1858 issue of the scientific journal "Acta Societatis Regiae Scientiarum Indo-Neêrlandicae".He based his account on a newborn male long, caught off Singkawang in western Kalimantan, Borneo.Later authors have recognized this species as belonging to the genus "Carcharhinus".