There are two types of dentalium found along the Pacific coast of North America. The most common, and the only type found in Southeast Alaska and Western Canada, is the Indian money tusk (Denatlium pretiosum). These one-footed creatures burrow into sea floor sediments where they feed on microscopic organisms.

What animal do dentalium shells come from?

The word dentalium, as commonly used by Native American artists and anthropologists, refers to tooth shells or tusk shells used in indigenous jewelry, adornment, and commerce in western Canada and the United States. These tusk shells are a kind of seashell, specifically the shells of scaphopod mollusks.

Are dentalium shells rare?

Dentalia shells, a mollusk, is collected from the sea floor off of Vancouver Island and is used by native peoples in a broad region of North America. They grow up to 3 inches (or more) long for the North West Coast dentalia, while 2 inch dentalia are not uncommon and 1-1.5 inches are the most common.