The common name of the bat is typically given as the "tailed tailless bat". This is because the species belongs to the genus Anoura, commonly called the "tailless bats", yet it possesses a tail. However, the name is arguably somewhat misleading, since only three of the other seven species of "tailless bats" genuinely lack a tail. Of the remaining four, however, three have tails that are significantly shorter even than that of A. caudifer, and the fourth, the equatorial tailless bat, was only distinguished from A. caudifer in 2006.
