Dentalium

Dentalium is a large genus of tooth shells or tusk shells, marine scaphopod molluscs in the family Dentaliidae. The genus contains 50 described species and about 50 extinct species.

Dentalium

H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
DentaliidaePBDB
Diet
deposit feederPBDB, for Dentaliida
Life habit
semi-infaunalPBDB, for Dentaliida
Motility
slow-movingPBDB, for Dentaliida
Vision
blindPBDB, for Scaphopoda

Time the record covers

At least 422 million years on record.

The record covers at least 422.7 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 426.7 Mya to 0 Mya.

Silurian — about 1 of 1905 occurrencesDevonian — about 6 of 1905 occurrencesDevonianCarboniferous — about 3 of 1905 occurrencesCarboniferousPermian — about 26 of 1905 occurrencesPermianEarly Triassic — about 1 of 1905 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 14 of 1905 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 41 of 1905 occurrencesEarly Jurassic — about 12 of 1905 occurrencesMiddle Jurassic — about 55 of 1905 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 19 of 1905 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 44 of 1905 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 308 of 1905 occurrencesPaleocene — about 156 of 1905 occurrencesEocene — about 390 of 1905 occurrencesOligocene — about 200 of 1905 occurrencesMiocene — about 307 of 1905 occurrencesPliocene — about 185 of 1905 occurrencesPleistocene — about 132 of 1905 occurrences435–421 Mya — about 1 occurrence392–377 Mya — about 6 occurrences363–348 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences348–334 Mya — about 1 occurrence334–319 Mya — about 0.3 occurrences319–305 Mya — about 1 occurrence305–290 Mya — about 1 occurrence290–276 Mya — about 0.9 occurrences276–261 Mya — about 1 occurrence261–247 Mya — about 25 occurrences247–232 Mya — about 43 occurrences232–218 Mya — about 10 occurrences218–203 Mya — about 2 occurrences203–189 Mya — about 5 occurrences189–174 Mya — about 7 occurrences174–160 Mya — about 55 occurrences160–145 Mya — about 14 occurrences145–131 Mya — about 16 occurrences131–116 Mya — about 9 occurrences116–102 Mya — about 23 occurrences102–87 Mya — about 39 occurrences87–73 Mya — about 86 occurrences73–58 Mya — about 319 occurrences58–44 Mya — about 162 occurrences44–29 Mya — about 340 occurrences29–15 Mya — about 255 occurrences15–0 Mya — about 484 occurrences422.7 Mya11.7 ka435 Mya0 Mya

1,905 occurrences of Dentalium on record, most of them in the Eocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1,905 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

376 formations

Corsicana Marl — 32.53°N, 96.27°WCorsicana Marl — 32.25°N, 96.29°WCorsicana Marl — 32.06°N, 96.47°WCorsicana Marl — 31.82°N, 96.54°WCorsicana Marl — 31.75°N, 96.58°WCorsicana Marl — 31.74°N, 96.61°WCorsicana Marl — 31.52°N, 96.58°WCorsicana Marl — 31.40°N, 96.73°WCorsicana Marl — 31.12°N, 96.82°WCorsicana Marl — 30.94°N, 96.95°WCorsicana Marl — 30.81°N, 97.10°WCorsicana Marl — 30.37°N, 97.46°WCorsicana Marl — 30.37°N, 97.45°WCorsicana Marl — 30.30°N, 97.46°WCorsicana Marl — 30.23°N, 97.52°WCorsicana Marl — 30.20°N, 97.62°WCorsicana Marl — 29.83°N, 97.84°WCorsicana Marl — 29.63°N, 98.04°WCorsicana Marl — 29.49°N, 98.19°WCorsicana Marl — 31.30°N, 96.90°WByram — 32.18°N, 90.25°WByram — 32.32°N, 90.86°WByram — 32.48°N, 90.80°WByram — 32.41°N, 90.84°WCook Mountain — 31.29°N, 86.56°WCook Mountain — 31.31°N, 86.48°WCook Mountain — 32.35°N, 92.72°WCook Mountain — 32.10°N, 88.86°WCook Mountain — 32.51°N, 92.12°WCook Mountain — 30.90°N, 96.39°WCook Mountain — 32.32°N, 89.03°WCook Mountain — 32.32°N, 89.16°WCook Mountain — 31.12°N, 95.90°WCook Mountain — 31.20°N, 95.73°WCook Mountain — 31.25°N, 95.72°WCook Mountain — 29.95°N, 97.14°WCook Mountain — 30.63°N, 96.55°WCook Mountain — 30.63°N, 96.54°WCook Mountain — 31.36°N, 95.42°WCook Mountain — 30.07°N, 97.08°WKincaid — 31.28°N, 96.98°WKincaid — 30.80°N, 96.95°WKincaid — 31.17°N, 96.83°WKincaid — 30.08°N, 97.50°WKincaid — 31.67°N, 96.47°WKincaid — 30.10°N, 97.30°WKincaid — 31.05°N, 96.83°WKincaid — 30.23°N, 97.52°WKincaid — 30.33°N, 97.37°WKincaid — 29.36°N, 98.88°WKincaid — 29.35°N, 99.14°WKincaid — 30.14°N, 97.37°WKincaid — 31.29°N, 96.72°WProvidence — 31.91°N, 86.17°WProvidence — 31.97°N, 86.00°WProvidence — 31.92°N, 85.82°WProvidence — 31.95°N, 85.68°WProvidence — 31.92°N, 85.35°WProvidence — 31.73°N, 85.12°WProvidence — 31.82°N, 84.97°WProvidence — 31.96°N, 85.45°WProvidence — 31.89°N, 85.21°WProvidence — 31.87°N, 85.72°WChari — 23.50°N, 70.50°EHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.58°N, 86.74°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.08°N, 88.22°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.82°N, 87.37°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.07°N, 88.03°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.37°N, 88.68°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.93°N, 88.05°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.35°N, 86.08°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.25°N, 88.43°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.32°N, 86.00°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.45°N, 85.63°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.97°N, 87.86°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.93°N, 87.75°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.53°N, 87.32°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 31.65°N, 88.08°WHatchetigbee Bluff — 32.14°N, 87.47°WLlajas — 34.31°N, 118.69°WLlajas — 34.32°N, 118.63°WMoodys Branch — 32.01°N, 92.00°WMoodys Branch — 32.33°N, 90.15°WMoodys Branch — 31.88°N, 88.69°WMoodys Branch — 31.31°N, 86.48°WMoodys Branch — 31.03°N, 85.85°WMoodys Branch — 31.14°N, 87.94°WMoodys Branch — 32.23°N, 92.15°WMoodys Branch — 31.53°N, 88.05°WMoodys Branch — 31.67°N, 92.89°WMoodys Branch — 33.96°N, 92.19°WMoodys Branch — 32.98°N, 90.30°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.82°WGatun — 9.30°N, 79.92°WGatun — 9.17°N, 80.00°WGatun — 9.35°N, 79.83°WCassian — 46.68°N, 12.15°ECassian — 46.53°N, 11.92°ECassian — 46.52°N, 11.96°ECassian — 46.64°N, 12.20°ECassian — 46.55°N, 12.15°ECassian — 46.54°N, 12.25°ECassian — 46.57°N, 11.94°ECassian — 46.59°N, 12.26°ETejon — 34.94°N, 118.82°WTejon — 34.96°N, 118.87°WTejon — 34.93°N, 119.23°WTejon — 34.89°N, 119.14°WTejon — 35.00°N, 119.00°WTejon — 34.93°N, 118.87°WTejon — 34.92°N, 118.97°WSanta Susana — 34.25°N, 118.72°WSanta Susana — 34.26°N, 118.70°WSanta Susana — 34.22°N, 118.76°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.80°N, 118.16°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.99°N, 118.45°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.60°N, 117.88°WPalos Verdes Sand — 33.73°N, 118.29°WPico — 34.36°N, 118.56°WPico — 34.33°N, 118.72°WPico — 34.43°N, 118.70°WPico — 34.34°N, 118.51°WPico — 34.36°N, 118.55°WLellinge Greensand — 55.67°N, 12.58°ELellinge Greensand — 55.48°N, 10.47°EEugene — 44.03°N, 123.10°WEugene — 44.05°N, 123.09°WEugene — 44.16°N, 123.05°WEugene — 44.04°N, 123.04°WEugene — 44.05°N, 123.03°WEugene — 44.98°N, 123.18°WMartinez — 38.05°N, 122.15°WMartinez — 38.01°N, 122.13°WMartinez — 38.90°N, 122.60°WKap Leslie — 70.48°N, 21.97°WPorters Creek — 31.90°N, 86.88°WPorters Creek — 32.12°N, 87.26°WPorters Creek — 31.99°N, 87.29°WPorters Creek — 31.93°N, 87.02°WPorters Creek — 31.98°N, 87.13°WPorters Creek — 32.03°N, 87.42°WPorters Creek — 31.97°N, 87.20°WPorters Creek — 32.23°N, 88.00°WPorters Creek — 32.37°N, 88.03°WPorters Creek — 31.94°N, 87.05°WPorters Creek — 34.73°N, 88.95°WOkarahia Sandstone — 42.57°S, 173.52°EOkarahia Sandstone — 42.60°S, 173.42°EOkarahia Sandstone — 42.55°S, 173.50°EJimol — 11.85°N, 71.33°WJimol — 12.03°N, 71.30°WJimol — 11.90°N, 71.39°WCastilletes — 11.95°N, 71.32°WCastilletes — 11.93°N, 71.36°WBowden — 17.88°N, 76.28°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Dentalium has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 352 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 332 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Dentalium and its relatives

Eocene

Where Dentalium and its relatives were recorded in the Eocene.

Found in the same rock

1,851 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,304 sites for Dentalium, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

436 references

Each of the 1,905 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 424 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Dentalium

Credit
H. Zell
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itDentaliidae through timeFormations of the EoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Linnaeus 1758