Their shells are generally smooth and discoidal, with a rounded lower edge, a moderate to large umbilicus, and goniatitic to ceratitic sutures.

The Prolecanitoidea encompasses two related families, the ancestral Prolecanitidae (lower Tournaisian – Bashkirian?

[1] The affinities or monophyly of this family are uncertain due to drastic changes in their suture patterns through ontogeny.

[2] The Prolecanitoidea were previously known by the name Prolecanitaceae, prior to the recent ruling of the ICZN regarding superfamilies.

The suffix -oidea was previously used for some time in invertebrate taxonomies as the ending for subclasses, e.g. Ammonoidea.