Phlaocyon latidens was originally named Galecynus latidens by Cope 1881. It was recombined as Cynodictis latidens by Scott 1898; it was recombined as Nothocyon latidens by Matthew 1899, Merriam (1906), Matthew 1907, Peterson 1907, Thorpe (1922), Hall and Martin (1930), Macdonald (1963) and Macdonald (1970); it was recombined as Cormocyon latidens by Wang and Fremd (1994); it was recombined as Phlaocyon latidens by Wang, Tedford & Taylor 1999.
Scott, W. B. (1898). "Notes on the Canidæ of the White River Oligocene". Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. 19 (3): 325–416. doi:10.2307/1005497. JSTOR1005497.
Wang, X.; Tedford, R. H.; Taylor, B. E. (1999). "Phylogenetic systematics of the Borophaginae (Carnivora, Canidae)". Bulletin of the AMNH. 243. hdl:2246/1588.