Shell · Genus
Dentalium
Tusk shells
Tusk shells (Dentalium, class Scaphopoda) are tapering, open-ended tubes like miniature elephant tusks, a class of mollusc distinct from snails and clams. They were strung as currency by Pacific Northwest peoples and are cheap beach and dredge finds today. Fossil scaphopods date to the Ordovician and are common in Cretaceous and Cenozoic beds.
| Habitat | Buried in sand and mud, shelf to deep sea, worldwide |
|---|---|
| Regions | Worldwide |
| Family | Dentaliidae |
| Authority (WoRMS) | Linnaeus, 1758· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Status (WoRMS) | accepted· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Extinct (WoRMS) | no· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
| Classification (WoRMS) | Animalia › Mollusca › Scaphopoda › Dentaliida › Dentaliidae· WoRMS / MolluscaBase |
CITES and protection
Not CITES-listed; Dentalium pretiosum was Pacific Northwest currency and is still used in regalia.
Care (Byne's disease)
Stable.
Elsewhere
- WoRMS AphiaID: 137886
- Wikidata: Q76942
- WoRMS / MolluscaBase record
- Wikipedia: Dentalium
- CITES Appendices
Cite this article
Stratum Strata. "Dentalium" (Shell family). Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21. https://stratum.black/strata/shells/dentalium. Accessed 2026-09-21.
@misc{stratum-dentalium,
title = {Dentalium},
author = {{Stratum Strata}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/strata/shells/dentalium}},
year = {2026},
note = {Shell family article, Stratum Strata pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-21; sources: stratum, worms, wikidata, commons. Accessed 2026-09-21.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.