This species is traditionally treated as a subspecies of Heliophorus ila (de Nicéville, 1896), as also originally described by Eliot. However, pseudonexus male genitalia are distinct from those of other ila-group species and subspecies, which were interpreted incorrectly by Eliot and subsequent followers. See further notes about subspecies and traditional taxonomy in Kunte et al. 2019, and follow further notes that will be provided here in due course.