Type species: Pleurotoma membranacea Watson, 1886, by original designation.
Remarks: The protoconch is missing in the type specimen, Pleurotoma (Thesbia) membranacea Watson, 1886. However, Xanthodaphne maoria Dell, 1956, has a protoconch diagonally cancelled with two whorls (Powell, 1942: 166). According to Bouchet & Warén (1980: 63), this genus is characterized by a sculpture of thin furrows and the presence of an anal sinus, which distinguishes it from the similar genus Lusitanops Nordsieck, 1968. Xanthodaphne can also be distinguished from the strongly shouldered genus Gymnobela, by its mostly smooth, evenly rounded whorls (Bouchet & Warén, 1980: 63).