[1] Along with other well preserved insect fossils, the Cephalopone specimens were collected from layers of the Lutetian Messel pit World Heritage Site.

The area is a preserved maar lake which initially formed approximately 47 million years ago as the result of volcanic explosions.

[2] At the time of description, the holotype and paratype specimens were preserved in the Senckenberg Research Station Messel fossil collections.

The fossils were described by Gennady Dlussky and Sonja Wedmann in a 2012 paper on the poneromorph ants of Messel, with the genus and both species named in it.

The body has an approximate length of 26 mm (1.0 in) with a squared off head that has slightly bulged back margin with rounded corners on each side.

The antennae have segments that range from 1.2 to 2 times as long as they are wide, with a scape is slightly extending past the back edge of the head.