Antalis pretiosa

The wampum tuskshell has a narrow, tubular shell. Bill Merrilees describes the shell as a "sturdy attractive shell" that resembles a miniaturized elephant tusk. The shell consists of aragonite. Its length ranges between 3.6–7.5 centimetres (1.4–3.0 in), Adults are blind. Abbott (1974) notes an average length between 51–55 millimetres (2.0–2.2 in). Adults are motile, locomotion for the adult is primarily done through the "foot". The foot is used to orient the animal within the sediment and bury it.

The wampum tuskshell is found on the Eastern Pacific. It is distributed from Alaska (Forrester Island), Canada, down to California and Mexico (Baja California peninsula). The maximum latitude for 55 degrees North, and the maximum longitude is -130.88 degrees. The minimum latitude is 32 degrees North, and the minimum longitude is -132.66 degrees.

Habitat. The wampum tuskshell inhabits areas of deep water in coarse, clean sand on the seabed's surface. It is found in association with sand dollars and the purple olive snail (Callianax biplicata). It is a benthic organism that occurs in depths of 2–152 metres (6.6–498.7 ft). It tolerates temperatures between 6.893–9.967 °C (44.407–49.941 °F). The concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water ranges from 4.37 to 6.534 ml/L. The concentration of dissolved nitrate in the water ranges from 7.622 to 20.476 μmol/L. The saturation of oxygen in the water ranges from 62.799 to 100.512 percent. Water phosphate concentration ranges from 0.963 to 2.1 μmol/L. The salinity that the wampum tuskshell is found in ranges from 31.942 to 32.853 psu. The water silicate concentration ranges from 14.539 to 51.234 μmol/L.

The shells of the wampum tuskshell have been in use for over 2500 years by the Indigenous peoples of North America. Three species of tusk shell are referred to with the historic and ethnographic term "dentalium", A. pretiosa, A. entalis, and D. neohexagonum. Only A. pretiosa was significantly used in trade prior to colonization. D. neohexagonum was found in several localities in San Miguel Island, California, while R.B. Clark noted A. entalis "was never collected by the Indians", only flooding the market due to demand for tusk shells in trade and introduction by European traders. Formerly in use as currency, they continue to be used in some communities for regalia. Worn by both men and women, the shells were used as decorative material for beaded earrings, bracelets, dolls, hair adornments, hats, headdresses, necklaces, and nose pins. They served as an indicator of wealth for the wearer. Due to their natural perforations at both ends, the empty shells were ideal for use in beading. The shells' scarcity, beauty, ease of transport, and difficulty to reproduce made it an excellent source of currency. Between the years of 1750 and 1850, the shells were sought out by both Indigenous peoples and European traders from the Hudson's Bay Company for use in trade. Value was determined by the length of a string of the shells. …

As a Scaphopod, the wampum tuskshell is gonochoric, meaning each individual is either male or female. It reproduces sexually. Fertilization occurs within the mantle cavity of the organism. The eggs hatch into free-swimming lecithotrophic trochophore larvae. This is then succeeded by shelled veligers, planktonic larvae. Adults have a semi-infaunal lifestyle, living their lives partially buried in the sediment. They are slow-moving and feed on particulate organic matter, including algal cells, detritus, diatoms, and foraminifera, as a deposit feeder. Food is mucociliarily enmeshed using a structure known as the captacula, and then is processed using the radula. The shells of the wampum tuskshell form the homes of the toothshell hermit crab (Orthopagurus minimus), whose straight body is unable to fit in curled marine snail shells. These crab-occupied shells were noted to often encrusted by Bryozoans or bear the drill markings as a result of moon snail predation.