Tusk shells, class Scaphopoda, are marine mollusks with a distinctive tapering, tube-like shell open at both ends, resembling a miniature elephant tusk, that they use to burrow tail-first into soft sea-floor sediment while leaving the narrow end projecting upward. They lack eyes and gills entirely, breathing through their mantle, and feed using thread-like tentacles called captacula that extend from the head to capture tiny food particles such as foraminifera from the surrounding sediment.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Living or Extinct Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceShells range in length from 0.5 to 18 cm, tapering from anterior to posterior 1 Comparison
CITES Appendix Scientific Name Connections
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Tusk shell (Wikipedia)
Introduction
Scaphopoda
Introduction, shell size clause
Shells of species within this class range in length 0.5
Ecology
Tusk shells live in seafloor sediment, feeding primarily on foraminiferans; some supplement this with vegetable matter.
In Biome: Marine, Lead section
Scaphopoda (; from Ancient Greek σκᾰ́φης (skáphēs) 'boat' and πούς (poús) 'foot') is a class of shelled marine molluscs (invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca), whose members are known as scaphopods () and commonly called tusk shells or tooth shells.
View the Source2. GBIF Species API
3. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ238314, descriptionView the Source 4. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Animalia
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 23Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 23
"cites_listing":"I/II/III/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/C/D/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":null,"class":null,"order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Animals","language":"EN"},{"name":"Fauna","language":"EN"},{"name":"Animaux","language":"FR"}],"cites_listings":[]
Wikidata: Scaphopoda
- Wikidata Q238314, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Child Taxon Of: Mollusca, Wikidata P171 (parent taxon) claim, rank=normal, target=Q25326 (Mollusca)
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