Puyseguria
TaxonPuyseguria
AuthorityPowell, 1927
Display parents3
SynonymsPuysegeria Powell, 1927
Type speciesPuyseguria cuneata
Type species authorityPowell, 1927
Subdivision ranksSpecies
SubdivisionSee text.

Puyseguria is a genus of marine bivalve molluscs of the family Neoleptonidae.[1] First appearing in the Oligocene fossil record of New Zealand, members of the genus are primarily found in New Zealand, with one living off the coasts of Australia, and undescribed members of the genus found in southern Argentina.

Description

Members of the genus have a transversely-ovate shell which in small and inequilateral. Shells have low, rounded beaks near the posterior end of the shells. A long anterior lateral is found at the hings of the right valve, as well as a triangular (often bifid) cardinal.[2]

Taxonomy

The genus was first described in 1927 by Baden Powell, who named P. cuneata as the type species.[3] The genus is named after Puysegur Point in Fiordland, and originally had the spelling Puysegeria, based on a misspelling of the point.[1]

Distribution

Members of Puyseguria are found in New Zealand, except for one species, P. chapmani, which is found in Australia.[4][5] Additionally, undescribed members of the genus are known to occur in the waters of southern Argentina and the Scotia Arc.[6][7]

Fossils of the species are found in New Zealand, and date back to the Waitakian stage of the Oligocene.[5]

Species

Species within the genus Puyseguria include:

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Powell, A.W.B. (1979). New Zealand Mollusca: Marine, Land and Freshwater Shells. Auckland: Collins. p. 405. ISBN 0002169061.
  3. ^ Powell, A. W. B. (1927). "Deep-water Mollusca from south-west Otago, with descriptions of 2 new genera and 22 new species". Records of the Canterbury Museum. 3: 122.
  4. ^ "Puyseguria chapmani (Gatliff & Gabriel, 1912)". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  5. ^ Maxwell, P.A. (2009). "Cenozoic Mollusca". New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia.. Gordon, D.P. (ed.). Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. p. 199, 236. ISBN 978-1-877257-72-8.
  6. ^ Wikidata item Q99968053
  7. ^ 2286482. Retrieved 27 January 2026.