In 1912, the genus "Ammelaphus" was established for just the lesser kudu by American zoologist Edmund Heller, the type species being "A. strepsiceros". The lesser kudu is now typically placed in "Tragelaphus". However, a 2011 publication by Colin Groves and Peter Grubb argues for the lesser kudu's renewed placement in the genus "Ammelaphus" on the grounds that this species is part of the earliest-diverging lineage of its tribe, having split from the main lineage before it separated into "Tragelaphus" and "Taurotragus".