 He assigned the new species to the subgenus "Uranganops" of the genus "Galeolamna", and gave it the specific epithet "fitzroyensis" because the type specimen, a 1.2-m-long female, was collected from Connor's Creek in the Fitzroy River estuary.Subsequent authors have synonymized "Galeolamna" with "Carcharhinus".The evolutionary relationships of the creek whaler have yet to be fully resolved.