APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

A-P-H-O-T-O Wildlife Stock Image Library
Antalis vulgaris (da Costa, 1778) - Grooved tusk shell (Marine mollusc images)
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Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- shell 1

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- shell with 1.0mm scale rule 1

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- collection of shells 1

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- shell 2

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- shell 3

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- shell 4

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- grooved tip 1

Grooved tusk shell
Antalis vulgaris
- in museum collection 1

An unusual shaped offshore species that doesn't live between the tide marks. It grows to about an inch or more in length. Not a common find on the shore because of its fragility and difficulty in spotting, but it can be found washed up along the high water mark of sandy beaches all around the coast, if your lucky.

Shell photographed was washed up with shell sand, at the very east corner of Par Beach, near St. Austell, Cornwall. 30.04.09.

Also photograph from small late 19th Century shell collection at Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance, Cornwall. 22.09.11. Species was labelled as Dentalium tarentinum Lamarck, 1818. Historically, there are two records local to Penzance from between 1880 and 1909 by Mrs. A. D. B. Knocker from Marazion, SW5130; and before 1885 by E. D. Marquand in Mount's Bay, SW52. Ref: ERICA database.

Scientific and European Names:
Antalis vulgaris, Dentalium tarentinum, Grooved tusk shell, Geribde Olifantstand, Gewone Stoottand, Zwakgeribde Olifantstand, Dent d'elephant, Gemeiner Elefantenzahn.

Antalis vulgaris Grooved tusk Shell marine snail images
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.