Penion ormesi is a large to very large species of siphon whelk.[3]P. ormesi is benthic, and typically inhabits soft-sediments on the continental shelf.[4]
Recent genetic and geometric morphometric research using shell shape and size has demonstrated that a formerly recognised species Penion cuvierianus jeakingsi is closely related to Penion ormesi, and the taxon has been synonymised.[1] However, further genetic and morphological variation observed among these snails suggests that there may be further diversity within this lineage.[1]
Shells of Penion ormesi
Shell of Penion ormesi (museum specimen at Naturalis Biodiversity Center)
Shell formerly recognised as Penion cuvierianus jeakingsi
^ abcVaux, Felix; Gemmell, Michael R.; Hills, Simon F.K.; Marshall, Bruce A.; Beu, Alan G.; Crampton, James S.; Trewick, Steven A.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2020). "Lineage Identification Affects Estimates of Evolutionary Mode in Marine Snails". Systematic Biology. 69 (6): 1106–1121. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa018. PMID32163159.
^Beu, Alan G.; Maxwell, P.A. (1990). Cenozoic Mollusca of New Zealand. New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletin. Vol. 58. Lower Hutt, New Zealand: New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. ISSN0114-2283.