Pycnocentrodes is a genus of caddisflies belonging to the family Conoesucidae. The genus was first recognised by Robert John Tillyard in 1924. All known species of Pycnocentrodes are endemic to New Zealand.
The genus was first identified by Robert John Tillyard in 1924, who identified Pycnocentrodes chiltoni as the type species. In 1962, K. A. J. Wise recombined two of the original species identified by Tillyard, P. hamiltoni and P. olingoides, into a new genus called Confluens.
Reviewing the genus in 1970, Wise noted that it was likely that there was either a highly morphologically variable species or a species complex within Pycnocentrodes, due to wide-ranging variations in size, wing colour and pattern and genitalia. In 1976, Donald R. Cowley synonymised P. chiltoni (the former type species of the genus) and P. unicolor with P. aureolus.
Genetic analysis places Pycnocentrodes within a clade of New Zealand endemic caddiesflies who all share a common ancestor: Pycnocentrodes, Periwinkla, Confluens and Beraeoptera.
Tillyard's original text (the type description) reads as follows:
The genus is found in New Zealand.