The species was first described in 1866 as "Correlophus ciliatus" by the French zoologist Alphone Guichenot in an article entitled "Notice sur un nouveau genre de sauriens de la famille des geckotiens du Muséum de Paris" ("Notes on a new species of lizard in the gecko family") in the "Mémoires de la Société Scientifique Naturelle de Chérbourg".