[1] It was initially erected as a subfamily (Cyclocorinae) in 2017 to house four enigmatic, endemic genera containing seven species and one then-undescribed lineage that are more closely related to one another than to members of the families Atractaspididae or to other former subfamilies of the Lamprophiidae.

[3] The Cyclocoridae likely began to diverge from their closest relatives, the Atractaspididae, beginning 35-40 million years ago (late Eocene).

[1] Because snakes of this subfamily are not known from Palawan Island, their method of dispersal from mainland Asia to the Philippine archipelago must have differed from that of most Philippine reptiles and amphibians, which are thought to have rafted over on the Palawan "Ark".

Very little information is available on their geographic distribution, ecology, behavior, or conservation status.

[7] Despite high support for a close relationship from DNA, no unambiguous morphological characteristics unite these five genera.