Penion sulcatus

Penion sulcatus
Temporal range: Early Pliocene to Recent, 5.3–0.0 Ma
Dorsal view of a shell of Penion sulcatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
(unranked): clade Caenogastropoda
clade Hypsogastropoda
clade Neogastropoda
Superfamily: Buccinoidea
Family: Buccinidae
Genus: Penion
Species: P. sulcatus
Binomial name
Penion sulcatus
(Lamarck, 1816)
Synonyms

Fusus sulcatus Lamarck, 1816
Fusus zelandicus Quoy and Gaimard, 1833
Fusus adustus Philippi, 1845

Penion sulcatus is a species of medium-to-large predatory marine snail or whelk, commonly called the northern siphon whelk or kākara nui in Māori, belonging to the true whelk family Buccinidae.

Description

Fragments of Penion sulcatus shells washed ashore at Hobbs Bay, Whangaparaoa, New Zealand.

Penion sulcatus is a medium-to-large species of Penion siphon whelk.[1][2] Shells are highly variable in sculpture and colouration, but shells are often dark with a white aperture.[3]

Penion sulcatus is a carnivore and is known to feed on mussels and Dosina zelandica zelandica.[3]

Distribution

Dorsal view of a Penion sulcatus shell.

Penion sulcatus is endemic to New Zealand.[1][2][4] The species is found of the entire North Island and northern South Island coasts.[2][4] The species has an abundant fossil record in the North Island of New Zealand.[5]

P. sulcatus is benthic and is common on soft-sediments on the continental shelf [6] or within the subtidal rocky shore environment.[3][2]

Human use

Shells found in middens of historic Māori settlements indicate that P. sulcatus may have been intentionally foraged as a food-source.[7][8]

References

  1. 1 2 Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  2. 1 2 3 4 Vaux, Felix; Crampton, James S.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Trewick, Steven A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2017). "Geometric morphometric analysis reveals that the shells of male and female siphon whelks Penion chathamensis are the same size and shape". Molluscan Research. 37 (3): 194–201. doi:10.1080/13235818.2017.1279474.
  3. 1 2 3 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
  4. 1 2 Vaux, Felix; Hills, Simon F.K.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Trewick, Steven A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2017). "A phylogeny of Southern Hemisphere whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinulidae) and concordance with the fossil record". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 114 (2017): 367–381. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.018.
  5. ↑ Beu, A.G. and Maxwell, P.A. 1990. Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin, 58.
  6. ↑ Dell, R.K.. 1962. New Zealand Marine Provinces - do they exist? Tuatara, 10: 43 - 52. Online Copy courtesy of New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
  7. ↑ Green, R.C.; Pullar, W.A. (1960). "Excavations at Orongo Bay, Gisborne". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 69 (4): 332–353.
  8. ↑ Allen, Melinda S. (2012). "Molluscan foraging efficiency and patterns of mobility amongst foraging agriculturalists: a case study from northern New Zealand". Journal of Archaeological Science. 39 (2012): 295–307. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2011.09.013.
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