The subfamily Cephalophinae comprises three genera and 22 species, three of which are sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species. The three genera include Cephalophus (15 species and three disputed taxa), Philantomba (three species), and Sylvicapra (one species). The subfamily was first described by British zoologist John Edward Gray in 1871 in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. The scientific name “Cephalophinae” probably comes from the combination of the New Latin word cephal, meaning head, and the Greek word lophos, meaning crest. The common name “duiker” comes from the Afrikaans word duik, or Dutch duiken – both mean “to dive”, which refers to the practice of the animals to frequently dive into vegetation for cover.