The first fossils belonging to Scalenodon were found in the Manda Formation of Zambia and assigned to Trirachodon angustifrons in 1946. In 1955, the species was given its own genus, Scalenodon. In 1963, a second species called S. drysdalli was named from the Ntawere Formation in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia. Later that year S. drysdalli was placed in its own genus, Luangwa. Three additional species, S. attridgei, S. charigi, and S. hirschoni, were named from the Manda Formation in 1972. In 1973, a Russian species of Scalenodon was named S. boreus. S. boreus is known from the southern Ural Mountains of Orenburg Oblast.