Puyseguria

Puyseguria Temporal range: 25.2–recent  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Puyseguria tani
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Bivalvia
Order:	Venerida
Superfamily:	Veneroidea
Family:	Neoleptonidae
Genus:	Puyseguria Powell, 1927
Type species
Puyseguria cuneata Powell, 1927
Species
See text.
Synonyms [1]
PuysegeriaPowell, 1927

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 mebmers 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:

• Puyseguria chapmani (Gatliff & Gabriel, 1912)
• † Puyseguria crenulifera P. A. Maxwell, 1969
• Puyseguria cuneata Powell, 1927
• Puyseguria prognata Powell, 1927
• Puyseguria tani Powell, 1939
• Puyseguria wanganuica A. W. B. Powell, 1931

References

1. Puyseguria A. W. B. Powell, 1927 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species  on 27 January 2026.
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". In Gordon, D.P. (ed.). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume one. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. Christchurch: Canterbury University Press. p. 199, 236. ISBN   978-1-877257-72-8.
6. Diego G. Zelaya (30 December 2005). "The bivalves from the Scotia Arc islands: species richness and faunistic affinities". Scientia Marina . 69 (S2): 113–122. doi:10.3989/SCIMAR.2005.69S2113. ISSN   0214-8358. Wikidata   Q99968053.
7. "Puyseguria Powell, 1927". Global Biodiversity Information Facility . Retrieved 27 January 2026.