Alternative spellings: Orthocerataceae, Orthocerataceae
Parent taxon: Cephalopoda according to B. Kröger and D. H. Evans 2011
See also Evans 1994, Evans 1996, Evans 2005 and Sweet 1964
Sister taxa: Actinoceratoidea, Actinocerida, Actinodochmioceras, Akidocheilus, Ammonoidea, Anomalosaepiidae, Ascocerida, Ausseites, Avramidiscus, Bactritoidea, Barrandeocerida, Belosaepia, Boletzkida, Botellusoceras, Burronoceras, Coleoidea, Conchorhynchus, Cyrtoceras, Dartoceras, Davidiceras, Desmoceras, Didymoceras, Discosorida, Ellesmerocerida, Endoceratoidea, Endocerida, Endocycloceratidae, Erlangericheilus, Gonatocheilus, Hadrocheilus, Heyuncunoceras, Kailiceras, Kotetishvilia, Lamellaptychus, Leptocheilus, Leurocycloceratinae, Mesoteuthoidea, Michelinoceratinae, Nautiloidea, Nautilus (Solenochilus), Ohioceratidae, Oncocerida, Orthoceratoidea, Orthodochmioceras, Palaeoteuthis, Plectonocerida, Protactinocerida, Pseudorthocerida, Rhynchoteuthis, Rhyncolites, Robsonoceratidae, Scaptorrhynchus, Sichunoceras, Songkanoceras, Stemtonoceratidae, Tarphycerida, Teratoceroides, Tetrabranchiata, Tillicheilus, Toxancyloceras, Werthenoceras, Yanhecerida, Yannanoceras, Yichangoceras
Subtaxa: Brachycycloceratidae Offleyoceratidae Paraphragmitidae Protocycloceratidae Sactorthoceratidae Slemmestadoceras
Ecology: fast-moving nektonic carnivore
Distribution:
• Permian of Japan (1 collection), Oman (1), Pakistan (3), Tunisia (1), United States (1: New Mexico)
• Virgilian of United States (2: Illinois, Ohio)
• Desmoinesian of United States (2: Pennsylvania)
• Carboniferous of Kazakhstan (1), the United Kingdom (2), United States (11: Arkansas, New mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania)
• Silurian of China (1), the Czech Republic (1), the United Kingdom (13), United States (1: Wisconsin)
• Ordovician of Argentina (3), Bolivia (1), Canada (8: Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec), China (13), Iran (2), Norway (4), the Russian Federation (1), South Korea (5), Sweden (1), the United Kingdom (22), United States (22: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Utah)
• Chazy of United States (1: Vermont)
• Whiterockian of United States (2: Utah)
• Arenig of Argentina (1), Bolivia (1), China (18), Sweden (1)
• Dawan of China (8)
• Cassinian of Canada (7: Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec), United States (14: Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Texas, Vermont)
• Jeffersonian of Canada (1: Quebec)
Total: 177 collections including 215 occurrences