[2] It was described in 1914 by Oldfield Thomas but was afterwards considered conspecific with the coppery titi (P. cupreus).

However, a 2015 paper revived it as a distinct species, finding it to be phenotypically distinguishable from P.

[2][3][4][5] The results of this study were followed by the IUCN Red List, ITIS, and American Society of Mammalogists.

[6][1] It was named after Captain Harry Stanley Toppin, who collected the type specimen of this species near the Tahuamanu River in Peru.

[6][1] This is a reddish-colored species that has a less fluffy and less whitish tail compared to P.