Löffler
The renowned ornithologist John Gould first described the royal spoonbill in 1838, naming it "Platalea regia" and noting its similarity to the Eurasian spoonbill ("P. leucorodia"). A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues found that the royal and black-faced spoonbills were each other's closest relatives.