DENTALIUM SHELL

COOBERPEDY AUSTRALIA

PARCEL

NATURAL PC

PICTURE TAKEN WET

MANY A TUSK SHELLS ARE FOUND BUT AN OPALISED ONE IS EXTREMELY RARE

The mantle of Dentalium species is entirely within the shell. The foot extends from the larger end of the shell, and is used to burrow through the substrate. They position their head down in the substrate, with the apical end of the shell (at the rear of the animal’s body) projecting up into the water. These molluscs live on seafloor sediment, feeding on microscopic organisms, detritus and foraminiferans.

The shells are conical and curved in a planispiral way, and they are usually whitish in color. Because of these characteristics, the shell somewhat resembles a miniature elephant’s tusk. They are hollow and open at both ends; the opening at the larger end is the main or anterior aperture of the shell. The smaller opening is known as the apical aperture.

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