The first description of Colpophyllia natans as a species was published by the Dutch physician and naturalist Maarten Houttuyn. Basing his work on Linnaeus, between the years 1761 and 1785 Houttuyn published a 37-volume natural history series, titled ("Natural history, or an extensive description of the animals, plants and minerals, after the compilation of Linnaeus, with accurate illustrations"). Volumes 17 and 18, the final volumes of the zoology section, were published in 1772 and focused on polyps, wherein C. natans is described. Houttuyn gave the species name as Madrepora natans, which was later included in the genus Colpophyllia, by Henri Milne-Edwards and Jules Haime, 1848.Milne-Edwards and Haime, Recherches sur la structure, et la classification des polypiers, Paris, 2 vols. 1848-49. His cousin Frans Houttuyn, a printer and bookseller, printed the series and is sometimes mistakenly credited for the work and also erroneously named as Houttuyn's father.
