Lohmann and Bückmann, 1926
Trunk laterally compressed (Pelagopleura magna). Mouth terminal. Buccal glands absent. Spiracles small or large, in front of or at both sides of the rectum. Esophagus long, funnel-shaped, entering the stomach dorsally. Stomach undivided, laterally compressed. Intestine tubular. Tail without subchordal cells. Amphichordal cells sometimes present.
Bückmann and Kapp (1975) recognized six species, two of which have Antarctic distributions: Pelagopleura australis and Pelagopleura magna. The first one has been recorded by Lohmann and Hentschel (1939) in the South Atlantic Ocean, in the area of the Antarctic Convergence. Another species, Pelagopleura oppressa, has also been recorded by Lohmann and Hentschel (1939) in the tropical South Atlantic.
Remark
The genera Althoffia and Pelagopleura are grouped together under the supergenus Alabiata Fenaux, 1993.