Artiopoda - Ptychopariida - Plethopeltidae
Parent taxon: Ptychopariida according to H. B. Whittington et al. 1997
See also Adrain 2011
Sister taxa: Acrocephalitidae, Alokistocaridae, Amphorella, Atratebiinae, Bifodina, Bolaspididae, Bulnibarbi, Bvalbardites, Catillicephalidae, Chondrastaulina, Chuangiformis, Cliffiidae, Conococheaquea, Conocoryphidae, Conokephalinidae, Crepicephalidae, Diceratocephalidae, Elviniidae, Harpina, Indiligens, Kazelina, Kingstoniidae, Kirengelia, Lisaniidae, Lonchocephalidae, Lorenzellidae, Marjumiidae, Meniscocorphye, Meniscocoryphe, Menomoniidae, Neoanomocerella, Norwoodiidae, Olenina, Papyriaspididae, Phylacteridae, Proasaphiscidae, Propeltura, Ptychopariidae, Ptychopariina, Ptychoparoides, Raymondinidae, Shumardiidae, Solenopleuracea, Solenopleuridae, Tricrepicephalidae, Xianquianaspis, Yuehsieszella
Subtaxa: Arapahoia Cherrycreekia Exigua Glaberaspis Koldinia Koldiniella Kuljumbina Leiocoryphe Notaiella Plethopeltides Plethopeltis Plethopeltoides Poriplethopeltis Pseudokoldinella Samgonus Semicyclocephalus Stenopilus Strotocephala Tolstotchichaspis
Ecology: fast-moving low-level epifaunal carnivore
Distribution:
• Ordovician of Argentina (1 collection), Canada (5: Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador), the Russian Federation (10), South Korea (1), United States (1: New York)
• Skullrockian of United States (4: Nevada, Texas)
• Taoyuanian of the Russian Federation (3)
• Cambrian of Canada (53: Alberta, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec), China (2), Greenland (4), India (1), Iran (1), Kazakhstan (9), the Russian Federation (19), United States (88: Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
Total: 202 collections including 251 occurrences