Original description as Etheostoma australe:
- Jordan, David Starr. 1889. "Descriptions of fourteen species of fresh-water fishes collected by the U. S. Fish Commission in the summer of 1888". Proceeding of the United States National Museum. 11(723):351-362 (ffm00337)
Synonyms (1):
- Diplesion fasciatus Girard, 1859, with type locality at Chihuahua River, Mexico. Determiner: Collette & Knapp, 1967
- Etheostoma scovellii Woolman, 1892, with type locality at Río de las Conchos, Chihuahua, Mexico. Determiner: Collette & Knapp, 1967
Conservation: Etheostoma australe is evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species as (VU) vulnerable (1996).