The genus was circumscribed by Czech mycologist August Carl Joseph Corda in 1840.

It is characterised by ostiolate pycnidial (asexual fruiting body) conidiomata, annellidic conidiogenous cells, the absence of conidiophores, and brown, thick-walled, 0- or 1-septate, verrucose conidia.

However, Microsphaeropsis is characterised by the production of phialidic conidiogenous cells with periclinal thickening, and thin-walled, pale greenish brown conidia.

and Monographella maydis Müller & Samuels are the causes of Latin America tar spot complex in places such as Guatemala, Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador.

[9] Species Coniothyrium ferrarisianum has been isolated from leaves of Daphne mucronata Royle in Iran,[10] it was originally isolated from Acer pseudoplatanus L. in Italy in 1958,[11] and it was later found on Vitis vinifera L. in Canada in 2017,[12] as well as Prunus spp.