Michael A. Ivie and Charles J. Hart named and circumscribed the genus in 2016.

The genus Xerolinus was circumscribed in 2016 by Montana State University coleopterists Michael A. Ivie and Charles J. Hart.

[5][2] Its etymology comes from the Greek ξηρός (xērós; "dry, arid") combined with the ending of the generic name Diasolinus.

[6][5] Xerolinus is found in southern Florida and the West Indies, including the Lucayan Archipelago, the Greater Antilles, and the British Virgin Islands.

[2] As of 2018[update], the following thirty-one species are recognized:[3][4][5] In addition, an undescribed species mentioned in Robert H. Turnbow Jr. and Michael C. Thomas's 2008 checklist of Bahamian coleoptera belongs to Xerolinus;[18] Turnbow and Thomas had referred to it as "Diastolinus prob.