 McKenna and Bell (1997) divided eocardiids into two subfamilies, Luantinae for two of the oldest genera ("Asteromys" and "Luantus") and Eocardiinae for remaining genera.Kramarz (2006) has recommended the abandonment of these subfamilies, as the genera placed in Luantinae appear to represent basal eocardiids, rather than a specialized side branch.The latter hypothesis had been proposed by Wood and Patterson (1959).