Penion sulcatus

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.

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

Description

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]

The extinct species Penion exoptatus, Penion clifdenensis, and potentially also Penion marwicki, may belong to the same evolutionary lineage as the extant species Penion sulcatus.[4] This hypothesis is based on geometric morphometric analysis of shell shape and size for all four taxa, as well as the analysis of morphometric variation exhibited all living species of Penion.[4]

Example shells
  • A modern, beach worn shell
  • Shells fragments washed ashore at Hobbs Bay, Whangaparaoa

Distribution

Penion sulcatus is endemic to New Zealand.[1][2][5] The species is found of the entire North Island and northern South Island coasts.[2][5] The species has an abundant fossil record in the North Island of New Zealand.[6]

P. sulcatus is benthic and is common on soft-sediments on the continental shelf [7] or within the subtidal rocky shore environment.[3][2]

Ecology
Egg capsules of Penion sulcatus at Kawau Bay, Hauraki Gulf.

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

Human use

Shells found in middens of historic Māori settlements indicate that P. sulcatus may have been intentionally foraged as a food-source.[8][9]

References
  1. Powell A. W. B., New Zealand Mollusca, William Collins Publishers Ltd, Auckland, New Zealand 1979 ISBN 0-00-216906-1
  2. 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. S2CID 90288210.
  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. 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.
  5. 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. PMID 28669812.
  6. Beu, Alan G.; Maxwell, P.A. (1990). "Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand". New Zealand Geological Survey Paleontological Bulletin. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. 58. ISSN 0114-2283.
  7. Dell, R.K.. 1962. New Zealand Marine Provinces - do they exist? Tuatara, 10: 43 - 52. Online Copy courtesy of New Zealand Electronic Text Collection
  8. Green, R.C.; Pullar, W.A. (1960). "Excavations at Orongo Bay, Gisborne". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 69 (4): 332–353.
  9. 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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