Penion mandarinus, common name the mandarin penion, southern siphon whelk or Waite's buccinum whelk, is a species of medium-to-large predatory sea snail or whelk, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Austrosiphonidae.Bouchet, P.; Marshall, B.; Rosenberg, G. (2015). Penion mandarinus (Duclos, 1832). In: MolluscaBase (2015). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=594351 on 2016-07-06
Description Penion mandarinus is a medium-to-large sized species of siphon whelk. The length of the holotype is 96 mm, its diameter 40 mm.
(Original description in Latin and French) The shell is ovate-fusiform in shape, somewhat swollen, and very finely transversely striated, with a dark brown coloration. The whorls are strongly convex. The siphonal canal is shorter than the spire. The aperture is elongated, and the inner side of the lip is grooved.
The shell is ovate and fusiform in shape, slightly swollen and fairly thick, and it is finely and uniformly striated, with a brown color tinged with red. The spire is composed of eight whorls, the first of which show a slight nodular appearance. The aperture is white, and the outer lip is strongly striated on the inside.
The species could be confused with the sympatric species P. maximus, however P. mandarinus is typically smaller and has a smoother shell with a shorter siphonal canal.
Distribution This marine species is endemic to Australia (New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria).Wilson, B. 1994. Australian Marine Shells. Prosobranch Gastropods. Kallaroo, WA : Odyssey Publishing Vol. 2 370 pp.
Evolution Penion mandarinus is closely related to another Australian species P. maximus. 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.
Subspecies These subspecies have been previously recognised: Penion mandarinus mandarinus (Duclos, P.L., 1831) Penion mandarinus waitei (Hedley, 1903)
References
External links
Gray, J. E. & Sowerby, G. B. I. (1839). Molluscous animals and their shells. Pp. 103-155, pls 33-34 [pp. 103-142 by J. E. Gray, 143-155 by G. B. Sowerby I. In: The zoology of Capt. Beechey's voyage, compiled from the collections on notes made by Captain Beechey, the officers and naturalist of the expedition during a voyage to the Pacific and Behring's straits in his Majesty's ship Blossom, under the command of Captain F. W. Beechey in the years 1825, 26, 27 and 28. London pp. XII + 186 + 44 pl]
World Register of Marine Species: Penion mandarinus (Duclos, 1832) Molluscs of Tasmania: Buccinidae - Siphonaliinae: Penion mandarinus (Duclos, 1831) ('mandarin whelk') Seashells of New South Wales: Penion mandarinus (Duclos, 1831))
Natural History Museum Rotterdam - Mollusca - Gastropoda - Buccinidae