The nyala is the second taxon to branch off from the tragelaphine family tree just after the lesser kudu. As the nyala line has remained separate for a considerable amount of time (over 5 million years), it has now been placed in its own monotypic genus "Nyala". "Nyala" was proposed in 1912 by American zoologist Edmund Heller, the one who had also proposed "Ammelaphus" (lesser kudu). but not widely recognized, and was only re-established as a valid genus in 2011 by Peter Grubb and Colin Groves. While Nyala is the accepted genus, it is still considered as a species of "Tragelaphus".