Original description as Heterandia occidentalis:
- Baird, Spencer F. & C.F. Girard. 1853. "Descriptions of new species of fishes collected by Mr. John H. Clark, on the U. S. and Mexican Boundary Survey, under Lt. Col. Jas. D. Graham". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 6:387-390 (ffm04562)
Synonyms (1):
- Arizonichthys psammophilus Nichols, 1940, with type locality at 3.5 miles east of Tanque Verde, Pima County, Arizona, U.S.A. Determiner: Minckley & Marsh, 2009
Conservation: Poeciliopsis occidentalis is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species.