Original description as Culius perniger:
- Cope, Edward D. 1871. "Contribution to the ichthyology of the Lesser Antilles". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 14:445-483 (ffm00398)
Synonyms (1):
- Eleotris hilgendorfi Pietschmann, 1913, with type locality at Haiti, West Indies. Determiner: Pezold & Cage, 2002
Conservation: Eleotris perniger is not evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species.