The earliest report of this genus appears to have been that of Carlos Chagas in 1909, who discovered it in experimental animals, but confused it with part of the lifecycle of Trypanosoma cruzi (causal agent of Chagas disease) and later called both organisms Schizotrypanum cruzi, a form of trypanosome infecting humans.
Os primeiros informes sobre este xénero fíxoos o brasileiro Carlos Chagas en 1909 que o descubriu en animais experimentais, pero confundiuno cun estadio do ciclo de vida de Trypanosoma cruzi (axente causal da enfermidae de Chagas) e posteriormente chamou a ambos os organismos Schizotrypanum cruzi, unha forma de tripanosoma que infectaba a humanos.