[2] The taxon was assigned to the rank of subspecies, as Scotorepens balstoni sanborni, but recognised as a species following a revision by Darrell Kitchener.

[3] The author nominated the specific epithet sanborni in recognition of the works of Colin C. Sanborn, a curator at the Field Museum of Natural History and appreciation for his accommodation in Chicago while researching the mammals of Oceania.

The pelage colour is variable among individuals, the hair over the upper-parts is a uniform sandy to tawny olive and darker than the bi-coloured ventral fur, which is a pale greyish brown with whitish tips.

[4] The measurements of the geographical separated Australian populations are distinguished as those from the northwest and another from Queensland, as with S. balstoni the size of individuals becomes greater in the east and north of the range.

Another population is located north of Rockhampton, inland from the coast to the Cape York Peninsula, occurring at heathlands, open woodland and monsoonal forest.