Hexagon Tusk Shell, Dentalium neohexagonum

Hexagon Tusk Shell, Dentalium neohexagonum. Shell collected off the beach of Bahía Concepción, Baja California Sur, October 2019. Size: 2.5 cm (1.0 inch). Collection, photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

The Hexagon Tusk, Dentalium neohexagonum (Pilsbry and Sharp, 1892), is a marine scapopod mollusk that is a member of the Dentaliidae Family and a representative of the Scaphopods Class, whose shell is also known as the six-sided tusk shell. The shell has six strong ribs, running the length of the shell that affords the shell a hexagonal cross-section. These angles are more pronounced at the wide end of the shell. The shells are white in color. Hexagon Tusk Shells reach 3.3 cm (1.3 inches) in length.

The Hexagon Tusk is found over and within sand substrate at depths between 7 m (15 feet) and 256 m (840 feet). They range from Central California to the Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur along the coast of Southern California and Baja and they are found in the Sea of Cortez, from the Midriff Islands, Baja California to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur.