The genus was created in 1946 by Swiss mycologist Emil Imbach to accommodate an unusual agaric species, Squamanita schreieri, which L. Schreier had earlier described and illustrated as "Tricholoma X".

[1][2] In 1965 Dutch mycologist Cornelis Bas expanded the genus to five species, all of which were characterized by arising from "sclerotial bodies".

[3] The possibility that Squamanita might be parasitic on other agarics (the remains of which formed the "sclerotial bodies") was noted by British mycologist Derek Reid in 1983.

[4] The discovery of a host fruit body that formed its own pileus together with three Squamanita pilei confirmed the parasitic nature of the genus,[5] a discovery subsequently featured in Nature under the title 'Mycological mystery tour'.

[6] Molecular research, based on cladistic analysis of DNA sequences, has confirmed the parasitism of Squamanita, but has also shown that species belong to two genera: Squamanita sensu stricto and Dissoderma.