 It was described in 1954, when it was given the species name "bilarni", which reflects the Aboriginal pronunciation of Bill Harney, an Australian writer and naturalist who accompanied the expedition.The species has at times been assigned to the genus "Antechinus", and was long believed to be a member of the genus "Parantechinus".The latter genus currently contains a single species, traditionally known as the dibbler ("Parantechinus apicalis") in Southwest Australia, from which this species gained a common name of Northern dibbler.