It is one of three Praenuculinae genera known solely from late Ordovician, Caradoc epoch, fossils found in South America.

[1] Villicumia canteraensis was first described in 1999 by Teresa M. Sánchez from fossils in sediments of the late Middle Ordovician, Caradocian aged Don Braulio Formation.

The formation outcrops on the flank of Sierra de Villicum in the Argentina precordillera.

The shells of V. canteraensis are also noted for possessing overlapping rows of posterior and anterior teeth, a feature seen in few bivalve genera.

When described, the genus name Villicumia was chosen by Sánchez in reference to Sierra de Villicum where the type locality is.