It was described in 2014 based on its morphological distinctiveness, with phylogenetic analysis also supporting it as being a distinct species. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that it is a
sister species to the
Sumatran long-tailed shrew (
C. paradoxura), from which it diverged during the
Miocene, about 9.5 million years ago. The authors who described the species originally used the spelling "
absconditus", but the ending of the specific name has been amended to agree with the grammatical gender of the genus name. == Distribution and habitat ==