Mesembrinella caenozoica was described based on a single fossilised specimen which is preserved as an inclusion in a transparent chunk of Dominican amber.

[1] The amber was produced by the extinct Hymenaea protera, which formerly grew on the island of Hispaniola, across northern South America and up to southern Mexico.

[1] At the time of description, the holotype specimen was preserved in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

The fossil was first studied by an international team of researchers headed by entomologist Pierfilippo Cerretti of Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Based on what is known of modern mesembrinellid biology and the paleoenvironment of the Dominican amber forest, Cerretti et al suggested that M. caenozoica was a shade loving forest species with only a small habitat change tolerance, and with the movement of the paleo-Caribbean islands away from the mainland or with the climate changes through the Miocene the species went extinct.