A

David

Darling

belemnite

Fossil of a belemnite (sp. Cylindroteuthis puzosiana) from the middle Jurassic.

Fossil of a belemnite (sp. Cylindroteuthis puzosiana) from the Jurassic.


The belemnite is an extinct order of cephalopods which appeared in the late Jurassic period (213–144 million years ago) and lived through the Cretaceous period (144–65 million years ago), with a few persisting into the early part of the Tertiary period (65–2 million years ago) up to 45 million years ago. Entirely marine creatures, belemnites were characterized by a bullet-shaped, cylindrical shell.