''Dentalium'' is a large

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of tooth shells or tusk shells,

marine Marine is an adjective meaning of or pertaining to the sea or ocean. Marine or marines may refer to: Ocean * Maritime (disambiguation) * Marine art * Marine biology * Marine debris * Marine habitats * Marine life * Marine pollution Military * ...

scaphopod molluscs in the family Dentaliidae. The genus contains 50 described species and about 50 extinct species.MolluscaBase eds. (2020). MolluscaBase. Dentalium Linnaeus, 1758. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137886 on 2020-10-19

Etymology

The scientific name of this genus comes from the Latin word ''dentis'', meaning ''tooth'', based on the tooth or tusk-shaped form of these molluscs.

Description

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.

Human use

South Asia

Mehrgarh Mehrgarh (; ur, ) is a Neolithic archaeological site (dated ) situated on the Kacchi Plain of Balochistan in Pakistan. It is located near the Bolan Pass, to the west of the Indus River and between the modern-day Pakistani cities of Quetta, Ka ...

, a village located at the foot of the

Bolan Pass Bolān Pass ( ur, ) is a valley and a natural gateway, through the Toba Kakar range in Balochistan province of Pakistan, south of the Afghanistan border. The pass is an stretch of the Bolan river valley from Rindli in the south to Darwāza n ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

in modern-day

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, ornaments made of

Dentalium shell The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States. These tusk shells are a kind o ...

have been found at burial sites dating back to 6000 BCE. Excavations conducted by

Jean-François Jarrige Jean-François Jarrige (5 August 1940, Lourdes – 18 November 2014, Paris) was a French archaeologist specializing in South Asian archaeology and Sindhology. He held a doctorate from the University of Paris in oriental archaeology. He carried o ...

have described 'Exceptional grave deposits of Dentalium headbands found on the heads of several females...In Burial 274, the headband was made of woven rows of small dentalium and closed by two straps used as a clasp'.

Native Americans

The shells of ''

Dentalium neohexagonum Dentalium neohexagonum is a species of tusk shell, a marine scaphopod mollusk in the family Dentaliidae. As the Latin name implies, the cross section of this shell is hexagonal; hence its common name is six-sided tusk shell. This species oc ...

'' have been used by Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest and West Coast as a form of status and currency since time immemorial. The Chumash people have also been reported using dentalium as early as circa 1000 AD, in the Morro Bay area.

New Zealand

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

traditionally used Dentalium shells for decorative purposes, such as rings and necklaces. Most artefacts have been found around the Coromandel Peninsula, and typically earlier artefacts during the Archaic Period (1300–1500) are ''Dentalium solidum'', while later shells are ''

Dentalium nanum ''Dentalium nanum'' is a tusk shell of the family Dentaliidae, endemic to New Zealand waters. The Dentalium shell was traditionally used for decorative purposes by Māori, such as rings and necklaces, and has typically found at archaeological ...

''.

18th-century European use

In pre-modern medicine, these shells were considered an excellent

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

, and

apothecaries ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medicine, medical professional who formulates and dispenses ''materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and Nor ...

would pulverize them for use in several preparations. The shell used for this purpose was described by Joseph Pitton de Tournefort in London in the 18th century as being "of a tubular, or conical form, about 3 inches long; of a shining, greenish white; hollow; light, and divided lengthwise by parallel lines, running from top to bottom. It is about the thickness of a feather, and bears some resemblance to a canine tooth." However, it was considered at that time to be very rare, and in lieu of that, another shell was usually substituted. This was described as a multi-colored shell found in the sand where the tide had fallen; this shell was not channeled, or fluted. The large green shell to which the writer first refers must have been either ''

Dentalium elephantinum ''Dentalium elephantinum'', the elephant tusk, is a species of scaphopod mollusc. Its shell is often deep green fading to white at its tip and has between eight and 17 strong ribs along its sides. Adults are about 70 mm in length with an ...

'' or ''

Dentalium aprinum Dentalium may refer to: * ''Dentalium'' (genus), a genus of tooth shells * Dentalium (anthropology) The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous je ...

'', both of which are large and greenish, and live in the

Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...

zone. The other shell was presumably another species, possibly '' Dentalium entale'', which is native to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Species

Species within the genus ''Dentalium'' include:Animal Diversity
/ref> * '' Dentalium aciculum'' Gould, 1859 * '' Dentalium adenense'' Ludbrook, 1954 * '' Dentalium agassizi'' Pilsbry and Sharp, 1897 Stained tuskshell * '' Dentalium americanum'' Chenu, 1843 American tuskshell * '' Dentalium antillarum''

D'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

, 1842 * ''

'' Linnaeus, 1766 * '' Dentalium bartletti'' Henderson, 1920 * '' Dentalium calamus'' Dall, 1889 * '' Dentalium callipeplum'' Dall, 1889 * '' Dentalium callithrix'' Dall, 1889 * '' Dentalium carduum'' Dall, 1889 * '' Dentalium ceratum'' ( Dall, 1881) * '' Dentalium circumcinctum'' Watson, 1879 * '' Dentalium cheverti'' Sharp & Pilsbry, 1897 * '' Dentalium clavus'' A. H. Cooke, 1885 * '' Dentalium collinsae'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium congoense'' Plate, 1908 * '' Dentalium cookei'' Sharp & Pilsbry, 1897 * '' Dentalium crosnieri'' Scarabino, 1995 * '' Dentalium curtum'' G. B. Sowerby II, 1860 * '' Dentalium dalli'' Pilsbry and Sharp, 1897 * '' Dentalium debitusae'' Scarabino, 2008 * '' Dentalium dentale'' Linnaeus, 1766 European tusk * '' Dentalium didymum'' Watson, 1879 * '' Dentalium eboreum''

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington ...

, 1846 Ivory tusk * '' Dentalium ecostatum'' T W Kirk, 1880 * ''

'' Linnaeus,

1758 Events January–March * January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...

- Elephant tusk * '' Dentalium ensiculus'' Jeffereys, 1877 * '' Dentalium entale entale'' ( Linnaeus,

) * '' Dentalium entale stimpsoni'' (Henderson, 1920) * '' Dentalium entale'' Linnaeus,

* '' Dentalium floridense'' J. B. Henderson, 1920 * '' Dentalium formosum'' Adams & Reeve, 1850 Formosan tusk * '' Dentalium glaucarena''

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

, 1953 * '' Dentalium gouldii'' Dall, 1889 Gould tuskshell * '' Dentalium grahami'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium healyi'' Steiner & Kabat, 2004 * '' Dentalium hedleyi'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium hillae'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium humboldti'' Sahlmann & van der Beek, 2016 * '' Dentalium inversum'' Deshayes, 1825 * '' Dentalium laqueatum'' A. E. Verrill, 1885 Reticulate tuskshell * '' Dentalium liodon'' Pilsbry and Sharp, 1897 * '' Dentalium longitrorsum'' Reeve, 1842 Elongate tusk * '' Dentalium magellanicum'' Pilsbry & Sharp, 1897 * '' Dentalium majorinum'' Mabille & Rochebrune, 1889 * '' Dentalium malekulaense'' Scarabino, 2008 * '' Dentalium meridionale'' Pilsbry and Sharp, 1897 * ''

'' Hutton, 1873 * ''

'' Sharp and Pilsbry, 1897 Hexagon tuskshell * '' Dentalium occidentale'' Stimpson, 1851 * '' Dentalium octangulatum'' Donovan, 1804 Octagonal tusk * '' Dentalium oerstedii'' Mörch, 1861 * '' Dentalium ophiodon'' Dall, 1881 * '' Dentalium oryx'' Boissevain, 1906 * '' Dentalium perlongum'' Dall, 1881 * '' Dentalium peitaihoense'' S. G. King & Ping, 1935 * '' Dentalium pilsbryi'' Rehder, 1942 * '' Dentalium pluricostatum'' Boissevain, 1906 * '' Dentalium poindimiense'' Scarabino, 2008 * '' Dentalium potteri'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium pretiosum'' Sowerby, 1860 Indian-money tusk * '' Dentalium rebeccaense'' Henderson, 1920 * '' Dentalium rectius''

Carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

, 1864 * '' Dentalium semistriolatum'' Guilding, 1834 Half-scratched tusk * '' Dentalium senegalense'' Dautzenberg, 1891 Senegal tusk * '' Dentalium sowerbyi'' Guilding, 1834 * '' Dentalium stenochizum'' Pilsbry and Sharp, 1897 * '' Dentalium strigatum'' Gould, 1859 * '' Dentalium stumkatae'' Lamprell & Healy, 1998 * '' Dentalium suteri'' Emerson, 1954 * '' Dentalium taphrium'' Dall, 1889 * '' Dentalium texasianum''

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

, 1848 * '' Dentalium tiwhana''

, 1953 * '' Dentalium tubulatum'' Henderson, 1920 * '' Dentalium vallicolens'' Raymond, 1904 Trench tuskshell * '' Dentalium vernedei'' Sowerby, 1860l Vernede's tusk * '' Dentalium vitreum'' Sars, 1851 * '' Dentalium vulgare'' da Costa, 1778 Common tusk * '' Dentalium zelandicum'' Sowerby, 1860 New Zealand tusk ;Species brought into synonymy: * ''Dentalium diarrhox'' Watson, 1879: synonym of '' Antalis diarrhox'' (R. B. Watson, 1879)

Extinct species

Extinct species within the genus ''Dentalium'' include:Paleobiology Database
/ref> * †''Dentalium akasakensis'' Hayasaka 1925 * †''Dentalium alazanum'' Cooke 1928 * †''Dentalium angsananum'' Martin 1922 * †''Dentalium aratum'' Tate 1887 * †''Dentalium arcotinum'' Forbes 1846 * †''Dentalium atratum'' Tate 1887 * †''Dentalium attenuatum'' Say 1824 * †''Dentalium badense'' Partsch, 1856 * †''Dentalium bifrons'' Tate 1887 * †''Dentalium bocasense'' Olsson 1922 * †''Dentalium caduloide'' Dall 1892 * †''Dentalium cannaliculatum'' Klipstein 1843 * †''Dentalium cossmannianum'' Pilsbry and Sharp 1897 * †''Dentalium danai'' Meyer 1885 * †''Dentalium decoratum'' Münster 1841 * †''Dentalium denotatum'' Ludbrook 1956 * †''Dentalium giganteum'' Sowerby 1846 * †''Dentalium gonatodes'' Martin 1885 * †''Dentalium hamatum'' Forbes 1846 * †''Dentalium hanguense'' Cox 1930 * †''Dentalium hecetaensis'' Rohr et al. 2006 * †''Dentalium inaequale'' Bronn 1831 * †''Dentalium indianum'' Girty 1911 * †''Dentalium junghuhni '' Martin 1879 * †''Dentalium kansasense '' Gentile 1974 * †''Dentalium klipsteini'' Kittl 1891 * †''Dentalium latisulcatum'' Tate 1899 * †''Dentalium lombardicum'' Kittl 1899 * †''Dentalium mancorens'' Olsson 1930 * †''Dentalium microstria'' Heilprin 1880 * †''Dentalium montense'' Briart and Cornet 1889 * †''Dentalium moreanum'' d'Orbigny 1845 * †''Dentalium neohexagonum'' Sharp and Pilsbry 1897 * †''Dentalium neornatum'' Hayasaka 1925 * †''Dentalium ovale'' Cooke 1928 * †''Dentalium pseudonyma'' Pilsbry and Sharp 1898 * †''Dentalium rimosum'' Bose 1906 * †''Dentalium rugiferum'' von Koenen 1885 * †''Dentalium sandbergeri'' Cossmann and Lambert 1884 * †''Dentalium schencki'' Moore 1963 * †''Dentalium sexangulum'' (Gmelin, 1790) * †''Dentalium simile'' Münster 1841 * †''Dentalium solidum'' Hutton 1873 * †''Dentalium sorbii '' King 1850 * †''Dentalium speyeri'' Geinitz 1852 * †''Dentalium sundkrogensis'' Schnetler 2001 * †''Dentalium tenuistriatum'' Martin 1879 * †''Dentalium tornatissimum'' Tate 1899 * †''Dentalium triquetrum'' Tate 1887 * †''Dentalium yasilum'' Olsson 1930 Fossils in the

''Dentalium'' are geographically widespread. This genus is very ancient, going back up to the

Silurian The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...

period (age range: from 422.9 to 0.0 million years ago). It is especially represented in

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...

and

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

Gallery

File: Dentaliidae - Dentalium sexangulum.JPG, Fossil of ''Dentalium sexangulum''. Pliocene File:Dentalium badense 01.JPG, Fossil of ''Dentalium badense''. Miocene File: Mollusca - Dentalium.JPG, Fossils of ''Dentalium species''. Pliocene File:Dentaliidae - Sowerby.png, Top: '' Dentalium entale. Bottom: '' Dentalium vulgare'' File:Dentalium sp.1 - Plioceno.JPG, Fossils of ''Dentalium'' sp. (Pliocene) founded in Huelva

References

* Habe, T. (1963). A classification of the scaphopod mollusks found in Japan and adjacent areas. Bulletin of the National Science Museum Tokyo. 6(3): 252–281, pls 37–38. * Scarabino V., 1995 Scaphopoda of the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans, with description of 3 new genera and 42 new species P. Bouchet (ed) Résultats des Campagnes MUSORSTOM, Volume 14 Mémoires du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 167 189-379 * Gofas, S.; Le Renard, J.; Bouchet, P. (2001). Mollusca. in: Costello, M.J. et al. (eds), European Register of Marine Species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Patrimoines Naturels. 50: 180-213 *

External links

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae

https://web.archive.org/web/20070811162831/http://www.mnhn.fr/publication/zoosyst/z01n3a4.pdf
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dentalium (Genus) Dentaliidae Extant Silurian first appearances Paleozoic life of Ontario