 The genus was established by Thomas C. Jerdon in 1851 to house the single species "Harpegnathos saltator", found in India.Believing that the name was unavailable due to homonymy, Smith (1858) incorrectly erected the unnecessary replacement name "Drepanognathus" (now a synonym of "Harpegnathos").For some time, both names were used in publications by other authors until the original name was restored.