Lochriea commutata (Branson and Mehl, 1941), a senior subjective synonym of Lochriea montanaensis Scott, 1942, is the type species of Lochriea Scott, 1942, one of the first conodont genera named using bedding-plane assemblages. Lochriea commutata is both wide- and long-ranging, locally stratigraphically important, and a consistently recognized Carboniferous species, despite its taxonomic journey from Spathognathodus to Gnathodus to Paragnathodus to Lochriea.

Lochriea commutata was, as Lochriea montanaensis, initially reported to contain 22+ elements, the apparatus composition of the genus being subsequently amended to 17+ elements based on Lochriea wellsi Melton and Scott, 1973, which is an untenable hypothesis because the latter was a conodontophage. Restudy of original and new bedding-plane assemblages in the mid 1970s established that the first assemblages studied were fecal, the initial reconstruction incorporated elements of two individuals, and Lochriea commutata possessed a feeding apparatus of 2P₁, 2P₂, 2M, 2S₁, 2S₂, 2S_3, 2S₄, and 1S₀ elements. A Lochriea sp. bedding-plane assemblage was subsequently found to have the same element composition, and restudy of type material, available bedding-plane assemblages, and new fused clusters confirms that Lochriea commutata had a 15-element ozarkodinid apparatus.

While species are still assigned to Lochriea using carminiscaphate P₁ elements almost exclusively, those assignments must be considered tentative until their apparatuses are determined to be similar to that of L. commutata, and until characteristics of elements other than the P₁ element, particularly the makellate Melement and the bipennate S_3/4 element, are also taken into account.

Lochriea bigsnowyensis Scott, 1942 is reassigned to Cavusgnathus Harris and Hollingsworth, 1933.