Fossils have been found in Europe (Denmark, England, France, Germany, Spain and Sweden), Africa (Algeria, Niger, Mali, Morocco and Tunisia), North America (Canada and the United States) and South America (Brazil and Uruguay).

Jouve & Jalil (2020) described postcranial material of a pholidosaurid from the Paleocene (Danian) of Ouled Abdoun Basin (Morocco), representing the most recent record of the family.

[4] One genus, Suchosaurus, once thought to be a pholidosaur,[5] has since been shown to be a spinosaurid theropod dinosaur[6] (incertae sedis within Baryonychinae; possibly a junior synonym of Baryonyx[7]).

[2] Alligatorium Theriosuchus pusillus Goniopholididae Bernissartia fagesii Eusuchia Thalattosuchia Pholidosaurus purbeckensis Sarcosuchus imperator Terminonaris robusta Oceanosuchus boecensis Elosuchus cherifiensis Meridiosaurus vallisparadisi Sokotosuchus ianwilsoni Dyrosaurus phosphaticus Hyposaurus rogersii Rhabdognathus de Andrade et al. (2011) recovered a paraphyletic traditional Pholidosauridae.

[9] Theriosuchus pusillus Theriosuchus guimarotae Rugosuchus Bernissartia Eusuchia Stolokrosuchus Goniopholididae Thalattosuchia Sarcosuchus hartti Sarcosuchus imperator Vectisuchus Elosuchus Pholidosaurus schaumburgensis Congosaurus Guarinisuchus Dyrosaurus maghribensis Dyrosaurus phosphaticus