Members of the Family Triophinae (Rudman, 1998), Gastropoda; Opisthobranchia, are characterized by having a reduced mantle, a narrow ridge along the sides of the body and a veil surrounding the head. This family is composed by seven genera of which only two have been observed to have bioluminescent species;
Kaloplocamus Bergh, 1892 and
Plocamopherus Rüppell & Leuckart, 1831. In order to better understand the evolution of bioluminescence within these dorids a phylogenetic analysis based on morphological and molecular data comprising all genera pertaining to the subfamily Triophinae was undertaken. Because there is great taxonomic confusion regarding
Kaloplocamus and
Plocamopherus species, this study is an attempt to do a taxonomic and morphological revision of both genera. Furthermore the description of new species for both
Kaloplocamus and
Plocamopherus are included. Five species of
Kaloplocamus were examined in this study, including three taxa described here:
K. dokte n. sp.,
K. peludo n. sp. and
K. maru n. sp. Seven species of
Plocamopherus were examined including four new taxa:
P. pecoso n. sp.,
P. maculapodium n. sp.,
P. margaretae n. sp. and
P. lemur, n. sp. The review of the morphology of these species provides the basis for future phylogenetic studies.
