The species was first described as a new one in 1973, by Rustem Devletovich Zhantiev, who named it Attagenus smirnovi.
In 1960 he graduated from Department of Entomology in the Biological Faculty of Moscow State University.
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In 1966 he wrote his thesis "The taxonomic and ecological analysis of Sem. Dermestidae (Coleoptera)" and in 1980 his PhD on insect bioacoustics.