[4] This genus was first described by the Italian zoologist Filippo Silvestri in 1898 to contain the newly discovered type species A.

[8][9] In 2019, the biologists Victor C. Calvanese, Antonio D. Brescovit, and Lucio Bonato conducted a phylogenetic analysis of the subfamily Aphilodontinae based on morphology.

This analysis placed the monotypic genus Mecistauchenus in a clade with the Neotropical species of Aphilodon, including A. spegazzinii.

[10] This phylogenetic analysis also placed five South African species assigned to Aphilodon in a clade with the monotypic genus Philacroterium.

After an examination of the type material for most of the South African species assigned to Aphilodon and a review of the original description of the other, Calvanese, Brescovit, and Bonato moved all South African species previously assigned to Aphilodon to the genus Philacroterium.

[3][11] As revised by Calvanese, Brescovit, and Bonato, the genus Aphilodon contains only species found in South America.

[2] Other Aphilodon species have been found in northeastern Brazil, in the states of Bahai and Piaui and in the Caatinga biome.

[4] Published accounts report finding Aphilodon species in rotting wood, leaf litter, and humus.

[13] These legs feature a small terminal spine rather than a claw at the distal end in both males and females.