Currently there are several problems with the genus-level taxa within the Scolodontidae. Multiple type-species designations have been proposed for some genera, type species are poorly described, and in some cases no clear decisions have been made in cases of homonymy or synonymy. This has resulted in wrongly identified species and genera within this group, which, among other problems, hinders the discovery and description of new species as well as the identification of known species. This paper is the first in a series in which all scolodontid genera will be redescribed based on type materials, starting with Happia Bourguignat, 1890 and its allies. Nomenclatural issues are resolved where possible. One new genus and a new species are described: Luteostriatella gen. nov. and Austroselenites pichinchense sp. nov. The following new combinations are made: Happia andia (Pilsbry, 1932) comb. nov., Systrophiella altivaga (Crawford, 1939) comb. nov., Systrophiella cayennensis (L. Pfeiffer, 1842) comb. nov., Systrophiella pygmea (Spix in Spix & Wagner, 1827) comb. nov., Systrophiella snethlagei (F. Baker, 1913) comb. nov., Systrophiella vitrina ( J.A. Wagner in Spix & Wagner, 1827) comb. nov., and Luteostriatella variegata (F. Haas, 1949) comb. nov.