Thebanaspis thebana was named by Lütke (1990) [= 1919 Proetus determinatus Foerste 1887 pl. 19 f. f. 14c]. Its type specimen is USNM 78745a and is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Near Thebes, which is in a Rhuddanian coastal siltstone in the Bowling Green Formation of Illinois. It is the type species of Thebanaspis.