[6] They diverged from Diplodocidae in the Mid-Jurassic, as evidenced by the diversity of dicraeosaurids in both South America and East Africa when Gondwana was still united by land.

[12] Dicraeosaurids are differentiated from their sister group, diplodocids, and from most sauropods by their relatively small body size and short necks.

The phylogeny published by Tschopp and colleagues in 2015 is as follows:[10] Dyslocosaurus polyonychius Suuwassea emilieae Dystrophaeus viaemalae Brachytrachelopan mesai Amargasaurus cazaui Dicraeosaurus hansemanni Tschopp includes Dyslocosaurus and Dystrophaeus as dicraeosaurids, two genera traditionally not considered to be part of Dicraeosauridae.

Dyslocosaurus polyonychius also has extremely limited fossil evidence that only includes appendicular elements, and the position of it in Tschopp's phylogeny is therefore considered "preliminary".

Due to their relatively small necks and skull shape, it has been deduced that dicraeosaurids and diplodocids primarily browsed close to the ground or at mid height.

[16] Dicraeosaurids are characterized by their relatively small body size, short necks, and long neural spines.

[17] They share thirteen unambiguous synapomorphies including dorsal vertebrae without pleurocoels, the presence of a ventrally directed prong on the squamosal, and a subtriangular-shaped dentary symphysis.

[6] Recently from the Thar Desert, a dicraeosaurid fossil dating back to 167 million years ago was discovered in 2023.

This present-day sweltering expanse of India was a lush green tropical coastline that bordered the Tethys Ocean, serving as a habitat for a diverse range of dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era.