Cratoneuron contains two species primarily distributed in temperate regions; only C. filicinum is present in the Neotropics. Ochyra (1989) treats Cratoneuron as a monospecific genus and sole member of the family Cratoneuraceae Mönk. in Pascher (not followed in this treatment). The stout leaf costa, serrulate leaf margins, thick-walled laminal cells, sharply demarcated, enlarged alar cells, and paraphyllia when present, are diagnostic features of this species.
Ochyra, R. 1989. Animadversions on the moss genus Cratoneuron (Sull.) Spruce. Journal of the Hattori Botanical Laboratory 67: 203-242.