Illaenus? priscus from
Salair and
Illaenus? berkutensis from the Malyi Karatau, Kazakhstan (both Lower
Tremadocian), are both very poorly known and it remains uncertain to which family they could best be assigned. The first certain Illaenid is
I. hinomotoensis from the Upper Tremadocian of North China and South Korea. The earliest species known from
Laurentia (western Ireland) is
I. weaveri, probably latest
Floian. These early occurrences are from the tropics, but during the
Darriwilian the family spread over southern
Gondwana, and became
cosmopolitan for the remainder of the Ordovician, although most genera had limited distributions. The genus
Stenopareia survived the
Ordovician–Silurian extinction events and the family slightly rebounded with 26 species divided over three genera during the Silurian.
Quadratillaenus tewoensis from North China is the youngest species known (
Pridoli Epoch). ==Genera==