E. galapagenis was shown by Coppard & Lessios (2017) to represent a genetically distinct clade of Encope endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago.
Coppard, S.E. & Lessios, H.A. (2017). Phylogeography of the sand dollar genus Encope: implications regarding the Central American Isthmus and rates of molecular evolution. <em>Scientific Reports.</em> 7(1): 11520.