Penion maximus explained

Penion maximus is a species of very large predatory sea snail or whelk, commonly known as giant whelk or great whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Austrosiphonidae.^[1]

Description

Penion maximus is the largest species of Penion siphon whelk, and is endemic to Australia.^{[2] [3]} The species could be confused with the sympatric species P. mandarinus, however P. mandarinus is typically smaller and has a smoother shell with a shorter siphonal canal.^[2] Their shells are highly coveted due to the intricate designs embedded in onto the shells.

Distribution

The range of the species extends from waters off Tasmania and Victoria to lower Queensland.^[2]

Evolution

Penion maximus is closely related to another Australian species P. mandarinus.^[4] The species have overlapping geographic ranges (sympatry) and may have evolved from a common ancestor via niche differentiation based on prey size and water depth.^[4]

External links

• Molluscs of Tasmania: Buccinidae - Siphonaliinae: Penion maximus (Tryon, 1881) ('great whelk')
• Seashells of New South Wales: Penion maximus (Tryon, 1881)

Notes and References

1. Kantor, Yuri I.. Fedosov, Alexander E.. Kosyan, Alisa R.. Puillandre, Nicolas. Sorokin, Pavel A.. Kano, Yasunori. Clark, Roger. Bouchet, Philippe. Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the Buccinoidea (Neogastropoda). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 2022. 194. 3. 789–857. 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab031.
2. Ponder . W.F. . Winston Ponder . 1973 . A review of the Australian species of Penion Fischer (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae) . Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia . 2 . 4 . 401–428 . 10.1080/00852988.1973.10673868.
3. 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.018 . A phylogeny of Southern Hemisphere whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinulidae) and concordance with the fossil record . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 114 . 2017 . 367–381 . 2017 . Vaux . Felix . Hills . Simon F.K. . Marshall . Bruce A. . Trewick . Steven A. . Morgan-Richards . Mary . 28669812 .
4. 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.009 . Evolutionary lineages of marine snails identified using molecular phylogenetics and geometric morphometric analysis of shells . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127 . October 2018 . 626–637 . 2018 . Vaux . Felix . Crampton . James S.C. . Trewick . Steven A. . Marshall . Bruce A. . Beu . Alan G. . Hills . Simon F.K.. Morgan-Richards . Mary . 29913310 . 49303166 .