How to recognise them

Long conical shell, can sometimes see an internal space or chamber, circular in cross-section.

Fossil Info

Belemnites are a type of cephalopod animal related to modern-day squid. They lived from the Late Triassic until the Late Cretaceous and went extinct at around the same time as the dinosaurs around 65 million years ago. Belemnites looked similar to squid, with an elongate body and long tentacles, but unlike squid, they had an internal skeleton.  This skeleton was made of calcite and formed a long cone called the guard. The guard is the part that is most commonly preserved as a fossil. Belemnite fossils range in size from 3 cm to 46 cm. The chemistry of fossil belemnites can be analysed to indicate the ocean temperature at the time the creature lived. In this way, fossil belemnites are useful in telling us about past climates.

Fun Fact

Belemnites were named after the Greek word for javelin or dart - belemon - In mythology, they were believed to have been thrown down from heaven as thunderbolts.