It is named after Philip M. Hall, a researcher at the University of Florida who performed the initial studies to clarify the species' distinctiveness.

[2][3][4][5] The species was formerly considered a distinct population of the closely related New Guinea crocodile (C. novaeguineae), but genetic analysis as well as morphological analysis of its skull structure (namely the postcrania and maxilla) has supported it being classified as its own species.

The two species likely diverged within the last 3-8 million years, when the uplift of the New Guinea highlands created a barrier that divided them into separate populations.

The species occurs in swamps, rivers, and lakes in the southern half of New Guinea.

[2] Three captive crocodiles at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, formerly considered individuals of C. novaeguinae, were actually found to be C. halli while the study was being conducted.