It was originally described as a subspecies of
Lophuromys aquilus (
L. aquilus brunneus) in 1906 by
Oldfield Thomas, from a specimen collected 13 May 1905. It was reclassified as a subspecies of
Lophuromys flavopunctatus in 1936 as a synonym to subspecies
L. flavopunctatus zaphiri. In 2002, it was elevated to species status. ==Phylogeny==