Original description as Hyporhamphus gilli:
- Meek, Seth Eugene & S.F. Hildebrand. 1923. "The marine fishes of Panama. Part I". Field Museum of Natural History, Publications, Zoölogical Series. 15:1-330 (ffm00538)
Conservation: Hyporhamphus gilli is evaluated by the international union for the conservation of nature in the iucn red list of threatened species as (LC) least concern (2010).