Penion cuvierianus

Penion cuvierianus is a species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, commonly called the flaring penion, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Buccinidae, the true whelks.

Penion cuvierianus
Temporal range: Early Pliocene to Recent,
Dorsal view of a shell of Penion cuvierianus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Austrosiphonidae
Genus: Penion
Species:
P. cuvierianus
Binomial name
Penion cuvierianus
(Powell, 1927)
Synonyms
  • Fusus dilatatus Quoy & Gaimard, 1833
  • Siphonalia dilatata Suter, 1913
  • Megalatractus maximus Suter, 1913
  • Verconella dilatata Iredale, 1914
  • Verconella dilatata rex Finlay, 1927
  • Verconella dilatata cuvieriana Iredale, 1914
  • Verconella dilatata var. elongata Powell, 1927
  • Verconella dilatata var. rotunda Powell, 1927
  • Verconella elongata Powell, 1927

Description

Penion cuvierianus is a very large species of siphon whelk.[1][2] Shells vary between ivory and yellow in colouration.[2]

Recent genetic and geometric morphometric research using shell shape and size has demonstrated that a formerly recognised subspecies Penion cuvierianus jeakingsi is closely related to Penion ormesi, instead of Penion curierianus, and the taxon has been synonymised with P. ormesi.[3]

Variation in shell morphology
  • P. c. cuvierianus
    P. c. cuvierianus
  • P. c. cuvierianus
    P. c. cuvierianus
  • P. c. cuvierianus
    P. c. cuvierianus
  • P. c.cuvierianus
    P. c.cuvierianus

Distribution

Penion cuvierianus is endemic to New Zealand.[1][2] The taxonomic name is a reference to the type locality of Cuvier Island.[1] The species has an abundant fossil record in the North Island of New Zealand.[4]

The species occurs in the subtidal zone between depths of 20 and 200 metres.[2]

Subspecies

These subspecies have been recognised:

Subspecies brought into synonymy

References
  1. Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  2. Willan, R.C., de C. Cook, S., Spencer, H.G., Creese, R.G., O’Shea, S., Jackson, G.D. Phylum Mollusca. In: de C. Cook, S.C. (eds.), New Zealand Coastal Marine Invertebrates 1, 406 – 407. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch, New Zealand ISBN 978-1877257-60-5
  3. Vaux, Felix; Gemmell, Michael R.; Hills, Simon F.K.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Beu, Alan G.; Crampton, James S.; Trewick, Steven A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2020). "Lineage Identification Affects Estimates of Evolutionary Mode in Marine Snails". Systematic Biology. 69 (6): 1106–1121. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa018. PMID 32163159.
  4. Beu, Alan G.; Maxwell, P.A. (1990). Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin. Vol. 58. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. ISSN 0114-2283.
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