Originally named Squalius copei and later placed in Gila, this chub was separated into a monotypic genus in 1945. This placement was eventually verified using mtDNA 12S rRNA sequence data. It seems a fairly close relative of the spinedaces (genus Lepidomeda) and the spikedaces (genus Meda), but the phylogeny and indeed the validity of the proposed "plagopterin" clade is insufficiently resolved (Simons & Mayden 1997), and Fishbase now classifies it as a species of Lepidomeda as well as splitting the leatherside chubs into northern and southern species.[4]