This species was originally described by Henry R Hogg in 1901.Hogg, H. R. (1901). On Australian and New Zealand spiders of the suborder Mygalomorphae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 71(1): 218-279. However, early research from 1894 had noted that this species could produce an audible sound. This is likely how the species got the name "the barking spider". Selenocosmia stirlingi is a member of the Selenocosmiinae subfamily, which is widespread throughout Australia and South-East Asia.
