Penion proavitus

{{Speciesbox | name = ''Penion proavitus'' | fossil_range = Paleocene, {{fossilrange|66|56}} | image = Penion proavitus (AM MA73353-1).jpg | image_caption = | genus = Penion | species = proavitus | authority = (Finlay & Marwick, 1937) | synonyms = *''Verconella proavita'' Finlay & Marwick, 1937 }}

'''''Penion proavitus''''' is an extinct species of marine snail or whelk, belonging to the true whelk family Austrosiphonidae.<ref name='Kantor-2022'>{{cite journal|author1=Kantor, Yuri I.|author2=Fedosov, Alexander E.|author3=Kosyan, Alisa R.|author4=Puillandre, Nicolas|author5=Sorokin, Pavel A.|author6=Kano, Yasunori|author7=Clark, Roger|author8=Bouchet, Philippe|title=Molecular phylogeny and revised classification of the Buccinoidea (Neogastropoda)|journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society|year=2022|volume=194|issue=3|pages=789–857|doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab031|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab031}}</ref><ref name="Finlay 1937">{{cite journal |title=The Wangaloan and Associated Molluscan Faunas of Kaitangata-Green Island Subdivision. |journal=New Zealand Geological Survey Paleontological Bulletin |volume=15 |year=1937 |last1=Finlay |first1=Harold J. |author-link1=Harold John Finlay |last2=Marwick |first2=John |author-link2=John Marwick }}</ref><ref name="Beu 1990">{{cite book |last1=Beu |first1=Alan G. |last2=Maxwell |first2=P.A. |date=1990 |title=Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand |series=New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin |volume=58 |url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/gns/Home/Our-Science/Land-and-Marine-Geoscience/Paleontology/Online-Resources/Cenozoic-Mollusca-of-New-Zealand |location=Lower Hutt, New Zealand |publisher=New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research |issn=0114-2283 |archive-date=21 February 2021 |access-date=23 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221023347/https://www.gns.cri.nz/gns/Home/Our-Science/Land-and-Marine-Geoscience/Paleontology/Online-Resources/Cenozoic-Mollusca-of-New-Zealand |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Vaux 2017B">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2017.06.018 |title=A phylogeny of Southern Hemisphere whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinulidae) and concordance with the fossil record |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=114 |issue=2017 |pages=367–381 |year=2017 |last1=Vaux |first1=Felix |last2=Hills |first2=Simon F.K. |last3=Marshall |first3=Bruce A. |last4=Trewick |first4=Steven A. |last5=Morgan-Richards |first5=Mary |pmid=28669812 }}</ref><ref name="Worms">[http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=831067 WoRMS World Register of Marine Species: ''Penion proavitus'' (Finlay & Marwick, 1937) † ]</ref>

==Description== ''Penion proavitus'' fossils are the earliest known specimens of ''Penion'' siphon whelks.<ref name="Beu 1990" /><ref name="Vaux 2017B" /> The species was medium-to-large in size.<ref name="Finlay 1937" /><ref name="Worms" />

It is possible that fossils of ''Penion proavitus'' represent a stem lineage that was the common ancestor of ''Penion'', ''Kelletia'' and ''Antarctoneptunea'', instead of a species of ''Penion'' itself.<ref name="Vaux 2017B" />

==Distribution== Fossils of ''Penion proavitus'' are found in New Zealand's South Island.<ref name="Finlay 1937" /> The species lived in the seas surrounding Zealandia between 56 and 66 million million years ago (Teurian stage).<ref name="Beu 1990" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Penion}} * [http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/record/am_naturalsciences-object-689302 Auckland War Memorial Museum ''Penion proavitus'']

proavitus Category:Gastropods of New Zealand Category:Extinct animals of New Zealand Category:Taxa named by Harold John Finlay Category:Gastropods described in 1937