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 Austrosiphonidae.[1]
| Penion cuvierianus Temporal range: Early Pliocene to Recent, | |
|---|---|
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| Dorsal view of a shell of Penion cuvierianus | |
Scientific 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 | |
| |
Description
Penion cuvierianus is a very large species of siphon whelk.[2][3] Shells vary between ivory and yellow in colouration.[3]
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.[4]
P. c. cuvierianus
P. c. cuvierianus
P. c. cuvierianus
P. c.cuvierianus
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Distribution
Penion cuvierianus is endemic to New Zealand.[2][3] The taxonomic name is a reference to the type locality of Cuvier Island.[2] The species has an abundant fossil record in the North Island of New Zealand.[5]
The species occurs in the subtidal zone between depths of 20 and 200 metres.[3]
Subspecies
These subspecies have been recognised:
Subspecies brought into synonymy
- Penion cuvierianus jeakingsi (Powell, 1947):[2] synonym of Penion ormesi (Powell, 1927)[4]
References
External links
