Macroscelides flavicaudatus was first described by
Lundholm as
Macroscelides proboscideus flavicaudatus, a
subspecies of
M. proboscideus. The
type specimen had been collected by the Plague Research Laboratory of the
South African Institute for Medical Research, "six miles from the mouth of the
Omaruru River" in Namibia. It is distinguished by the lighter coloration of its fur. Nine other subspecies of
M. proboscideus had previously been described; while Corbet and Hanks dismissed the variation between these as
continuous, they retained
M. p. flavicaudatus. Upon genetic and morphological analysis, Dumbacher
et al. found that the two subspecies were significantly divergent, and proposed elevating both to the rank of
species. ==References==