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]

Penion maximus
A shell of Penion maximus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Caenogastropoda
Order: Neogastropoda
Family: Austrosiphonidae
Genus: Penion
Species:
P. maximus
Binomial name
Penion maximus
(Tryon, G.W., 1881)

Description

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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

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The range of the species extends from waters off Tasmania and Victoria to lower Queensland.[2][3]

Evolution

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Penion maximus is closely related to another Australian species P. mandarinus.[3][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]

References

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  1. ^ Kantor, Yuri I.; Fedosov, Alexander E.; Kosyan, Alisa R.; Puillandre, Nicolas; Sorokin, Pavel A.; Kano, Yasunori; Clark, Roger; Bouchet, Philippe (2022). "Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the Buccinoidea (Neogastropoda)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 194 (3): 789–857. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab031.
  2. ^ a b c Ponder, W.F. (1973). "A review of the Australian species of Penion Fischer (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae)". Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia. 2 (4): 401–428. doi:10.1080/00852988.1973.10673868.
  3. ^ a b c 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.
  4. ^ a b Vaux, Felix; Crampton, James S.C.; Trewick, Steven A.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Beu, Alan G.; Hills, Simon F.K.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2018). "Evolutionary lineages of marine snails identified using molecular phylogenetics and geometric morphometric analysis of shells". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127 (October 2018): 626–637. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.06.009. PMID 29913310. S2CID 49303166.
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