The three taxa were described in 2009 by Mark D. Norman, Renata Boucher-Rodoni and F. G. Hochberg in the Journal of Molluscan Studies.

The genus name is derived from octopus and the Greek word histos, meaning "web" or "tissue", in reference to the membrane on the outside of the arms.

The type species was named zipkasae, "after the senior author's wonderful wife, Karen Zipkas", while the name of H. discus comes from the Latin discus, meaning "plate", in reference to the large suckers.

The "web margins" on the arms, which are the genus's most distinctive feature and for which it is named, are found in three other octopus genera (Velodona, Graneledone and Pteroctopus), but they are readily distinguished by other characteristics.

All four species inhabit the benthic zone of deep water habitat, typically deeper than 200 metres (660 ft) (and significantly deeper in the case of Graneledone), and so Norman et al. propose that the presence of the margins is the result of convergent evolution.