Known fossils from collections were found largely in Europe (e.g. Italy, France, Czech Republic), South America (Mexico, Venezuela) and Africa (e.g.

[9] Some sources suggest more genera, such as Acantholytoceras Spath 1932, Ivaldiceras Delanoy 2010 or Rugacrioceras Vermeulen 2007, but the viability of such claims remains questionable.

However, this remains controversial for Macroscaphitidae since e.g. specimens of Macroscaphites yuani suggest an aperture facing towards the phragmocone, a so-called ancyclocone, and thus preventing it from being tilted towards the sea floor.

While it is proposed that members of Macroscaphitidae were fast-moving nektonic carnivores due to there hydrodynamic anatomy, studies of other heteromorphic ammonites suggest a rather nektobenthonic lifestyle.

[15][16] Foraminifera, crustaceans and ostracods found in the guts of some species provide evidence that some heteromorphic ammonites fed on benthic animals,[17] making a epifaunal lifestyle rather likely.

Furthermore, all heteromorphic ammonite lack the hyponomic sinus e.g. found in recent Nautilius that is used for manoeuvreable jetting, thus making a comparable lifestyle to Nautilus unlikely.

In addition most fossil remnants of heteromorphic ammonites, including those of the Macroscaphitidae, were found in clay or marl rather than sandy facies suggesting a substrate dependend lifestyle.