1938  Martoceras Tumanskaia: 106,
       ----    Pamirites Zumanskaia: 107.
     1957  Stacheoceras.- Treatise: L53.
     1960  Waagenia.- Ruzhentsev: 231.
     1962  Waagenia.- Osnovy: 396.
     1978  Martoceras.- Bogoslovskaia: 65.
     1981  Martoceras.-Lee: 78.
     2002  Martoceras.-Leonova: S83.

Type species: Marathonites dieneri Smith, 1927, p.46 [OD].

[Bogoslovskaia, 1978, p. 65]: Shell large, pachyconic, moderately evolute in early stages, involute in the late stages. Umbilicus narrow. Ornament consisting of narrow lamellae forming a ventral projection in the early stages; lamellae radial, weakly curved in the late stages. Suture consisting of 26 to 28 lobes. Ventral lobe subdivided by a high median saddle into two bicuspid branches. Four lobes develop from the primary outer lateral lobe; the fourth is broad and bipartite. The primary umbilical lobe gives rise to five to six lobes, of which the outer lobe shifts to the lateral side very early in ontogeny. Dorsal lobe moderately broad, tricuspid. Four bicuspid lobes develop from the primary inner lateral lobe. Martoceras is genetically related to the genus Waagenina, to which it is naturally seen to be most similar, but from which it is distinguished by evolute whorls in the early stages, the development of four instead of five lobes from the primary outer lateral lobe and five to six instead of three to four from the primary umbilical lobe. It is distinguished from other genera of the subfamily by the smaller number of lobes around the septum.