The genus was established in 1975 to accommodate two newly described species of
dasyurids, the type species
Ningaui timealeyi and
Ningaui ridei. The author,
Mike Archer, compared his specimens to those of
Sminthopsis (the dunnarts), distinguishing the new taxon by the structure of the skull, the hindfoot, features of dentition and their smaller size, morphology that was presumed to be specialisations to a more arid environment. The author provided a diagnosis of two species that distinguished the populations by further details of cranial and dental characters. Archer notes the tentative alliance of the species to the genus
Planigale by
W. D. L. Ride in 1970, and provided a new definition of that genus to separate the new taxa. The three species of the genus are: •
Wongai ningaui,
Ningaui ridei •
Pilbara ningaui,
Ningaui timealeyi •
Southern ningaui,
Ningaui yvonneae The name "ningaui" refers to a creature from
Aboriginal myth. Archer refers to a published story of minute hairy creatures that emerged at night and ate their food uncooked, as an apt description the new genus. == Description ==