Echinoidea - Clypeasteroida - Mellitidae
Full reference: G. Stefanini. 1912. Osservazioni sulla distribuzione geografica, sulla origini e sulla filogenesi degli Scutellidae. Bolletino della Societa Geologica Italiana 30:739-754
Parent taxon: Scutelliformes according to A. Kroh and A. B. Smith 2010
See also Durham 1955 and Durham 1966
Sister taxa: Abertellidae, Astriclypeidae, Dendrasteridae, Echinarachniidae, Eoscutellidae, Monophorasteridae, Placatenellidae, Protoscutellidae, Rotulidae, Scutasteridae, Scutellidae, Taiwanasteridae
Subtaxa: Encope Leodia Mellita Mellitella
Ecology: slow-moving semi-infaunal detritivore
Distribution:
• Quaternary of Mexico (12 collections), United States (17: California, Florida, South Carolina)
• Pliocene to Pleistocene of Mexico (1), United States (1: North Carolina)
• Pliocene of Colombia (1), Ecuador (3), Mexico (10), United States (21: California, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia)
• Miocene to Pliocene of Aruba (2), the Netherlands Antilles (1), United States (1: California)
• Miocene of Chile (1), Colombia (2), the Dominican Republic (4), Mexico (2), Panama (3), Peru (1)
Total: 83 collections including 96 occurrences