🐙 Cell & Organismal Biology
European Tusk Shell
The European tusk shell (Antalis vulgaris) is a tusk shell of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, living in sandy sediment of the sea floor. Its shell is white and gently curved.
The European tusk shell (Antalis vulgaris) is a tusk shell of the Atlantic and Mediterranean, living in sandy sediment of the sea floor. Its shell is white and gently curved.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open European Tusk Shell in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Lophotrochozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Scaphopod's Diet
Tusk shells feed on foraminifera, tiny shelled protists, and other microscopic life from the sediment, which they capture with sticky tentacle tips and grind with a radula.
Water Movement
The animal pumps water in and out of its shell tip by the action of its foot and cilia, supplying oxygen. See Common Tusk Shell.
A Small Class of Molluscs
Scaphopods are one of the smaller classes of molluscs, with about 600 species, found in all seas.
European Tusk Shell at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Antalis vulgaris |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Mollusca |
| Class | Scaphopoda |
| Order | Dentaliida |
| Family | Dentaliidae |
| Field Guide group | Lophotrochozoa: Mollusca (Mollusks) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Ivory-white, gently curved, finely ribbed tube up to 6 cm long, open at both ends; lives buried in sand with only the narrow tip poking up to draw in water. |
| Class | Scaphopoda |
| Prey | Foraminifera |
See Also
- Common Tusk Shell — a close relative
- Elephant Tusk Shell — a larger tusk shell
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