Common name : tooth or tusk shells

Aspect : elongated, tubular, shells resembling elephant tusks, which are robust, straight or slightly curved, and strongly longitudinally ribbed, especially near the narrow posterior apex; open at both ends (anterior and posterior); wide anterior aperture (where the head and foot protrude); ranging 0.5–18 cm in length; often white, cream, or off-white

Feeding : microcarnivores and opportunistic detritivores, relying on sediment sifting (foraminiferans, bivalve larvae, ostracods, diatoms, and small protozoans); NB Preys are captured by the captacula (unique feeding organs) which are long, thin, sticky tentacles (numbering in the hundreds) used for trapping food particles, they are then conveyed to the mouth where a massive, ratchet-like radula (unique to Dentaliidae) grinds particles or pulls whole items into the esophagus

Environment : worldwide, from polar to tropical regions (North Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Pacific continental margins) on sandy bottoms silty or muddy substrates, continental shelf and slope environments; depth subtidal (>50 m) to abyssal (>4,000 m)