iBelemnites Fossil range: Devonian-Cretaceous
Small Belemnite fossils
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Subclass: Coleoidea (unranked) Cohort †Belemnoidea
Extinct Orders
Aulacocerida Phragmoteuthida Belemnitida Diplobelida Belemnoteuthina Disambiguation: Devonian is sometimes used to refer to the Southwestern Brythonic language, and the people of the county of Devon are sometimes referred to as Devonians The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1840x1226, 232 KB) Small Belemnite fossils, mostly from Europe. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... An ammonite fossil Eocene fossil fish of the genus Knightia Petrified wood fossil formed through permineralization. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Eumetazoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Xenoturbellida Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Ectoprocta Bryozoa... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia † Helcionelloida The mollusks (American spelling) or molluscs (British spelling) are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar animals well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class Cephalopoda... Orders Aulacocerida (extinct) Hematitida  (extinct) Phragmoteuthida  (extinct) Belemnitida  (extinct) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida Subclass Coleoidea is the grouping of cephalopods containing all the primarily soft-bodied creatures. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Families †Aulacoceratidae †Dictyoconitidae †Hematitidae †Palaeobelemnopseidae †Xiphoteuthididae Aulacocerida is an extinct order of belemnoids. ...

Belemnites (or belemnoids) are an extinct group of marine cephalopod, very similar in many ways to the modern squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish. Like them, the belemnites possessed an ink sac, but, unlike the squid, they possessed ten arms of roughly equal length and no tentacles. Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class Cephalopoda... SQUIDs, or Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices, are used to measure extremely small magnetic fields; they are currently the most sensitive such devices (magnetometers) known, with noise levels as low as 3 fT·Hz−½. While a typical fridge magnet is ~0. ... Families Sepiadariidae Sepiidae Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also include squids, octopuses and nautilus). ...

Belemnites were numerous during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, and their fossils are abundant in Mesozoic marine rocks, often accompanying their cousins the ammonites. The belemnites become extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period along with the ammonites. The belemnites' origin lies within the bactritoid nautiloids, which date from the Devonian period; well-formed belemnite guards can be found in rocks dating from the Mississippian (or Early Carboniferous) onward through the Cretaceous. Other fossil cephalopods include baculites, nautiloids and goniatites. // The image above is believed to be a replaceable fair use image. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... An ammonite fossil Eocene fossil fish of the genus Knightia Petrified wood fossil formed through permineralization. ... The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Orders and Suborders Order Ammonitida Ammonitina Acanthoceratina Ancyloceratina Phylloceratina Lytoceratina Order Goniatitida Goniatitina Anarcestina Clymeniina Order Ceratitida Ceratitina Prolecanitina Ammonites are an extinct group of marine animals (subclass Ammonoidea) in the phylum Mollusca and class Cephalopoda. ... Bactritida are a small and poorly studied order of more or less straight-shelled (orthocone) nautiloids which first appeared during the Emsian Stage of the Devonian Period (390 my ago) and persisted until the Carnian Stage of the Triassic Period (235 my ago). ... Disambiguation: Devonian is sometimes used to refer to the Southwestern Brythonic language, and the people of the county of Devon are sometimes referred to as Devonians The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era. ... This article is about the geologic period; for the North American culture, see Mississippian culture. ... The Carboniferous is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Devonian period, about 359. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class Cephalopoda... Species all extinct Baculites (walking stick rock) is a genus of extinct marine animals in the phylum Mollusca and class Cephalopoda. ... Orders Palcephalopoda Plectronocerida (extinct) Ellesmerocerida (extinct) Actinocerida (extinct) Endocerida (extinct) Tarphycerida (extinct) Oncocerida (extinct) Discosorida (extinct) Nautilida Neocephalopoda Orthocerida (extinct) Ascocerida (extinct) Bactritida (extinct) Nautiloids are a group of marine mollusks which all possess an external shell, the most well known example being the modern nautiluses. ... Families all extinct Goniatites are an extinct group of ammonite, which are related to the nautiloids. ...

A belemnite fossil from the Jurassic of France.

Normally with fossil belemnites only the back part of the shell (called the guard or rostrum) is found. The guard is elongated and bullet-shaped, being cylindrical and either pointed or rounded at one end. The hollow region at the front of the guard is termed the alveolus, and this houses a chambered conical-shaped part of the shell (called the phragmocone). The phragmocone is usually only found with the better preserved specimens. Projecting forward from one side of the phragmocone is the thin pro-ostracum. Image File history File links Belemnit. ... Image File history File links Belemnit. ... Phragmocones are the chambered portions of the shell of a cephalopod. ...

The guard, phragmocone and pro-ostracum were all internal to the living creature, forming a skeleton which was enclosed entirely by soft muscular tissue. The original living creature would have been larger than the fossilized shell, with a long streamlined body and prominent eyes. The guard would have been in place toward the rear of the creature, with the phragmocone behind the head and the pointed end of the guard facing backward. Belemnite guards are composed of calcite and tend to preserve well. Broken specimens show a structure of radiating calcite fibers and may also display concentric growth rings. Doubly refracting Calcite from Iceberg claim, Dixon, New Mexico. ...

The guard of the belemnite Megateuthis, which is found in Europe and Asia, measures 50 to 60 centimetres in length (20 to 24 inches), giving the living animal an estimated length of 3 metres (over 11 feet). World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

Very exceptional belemnite specimens have been found showing the preserved soft parts of the animal.

Some belemnites (such as Belemnites) serve as index fossils, particularly in the Cretaceous Chalk Formation of Europe, enabling geologists to date the age the rocks in which they are found. Index fossils (or zone fossils) are fossils used to define and identify geologic periods (or faunal stages). ... The Chalk Formations of Europe are thick deposits of chalk, a soft porous white limestone, deposited in a marine environment during the upper Cretaceous Period. ... A geologist is a contributor to the science of geology, studying the physical structure and processes of the Earth and planets of the solar system (see planetary geology). ... The rocky side of a mountain creek near Orosí, Costa Rica. ...

Unlike the modern squid, whose arms have suckers, belemnite arms carried a series of small hooks for grabbing prey. Belemnites were efficient carnivores that caught small fish and other marine animals with their arms and ate them with their beak-like jaws. In turn, belemnites appear to have formed part of the diet of marine reptiles such as Ichthyosaurs, whose fossilized stomachs frequently contain many phosphatic hooks from the arms of cephalopods. Prey can refer to: Look up Prey in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A prey animal eaten by a predator in an act called predation. ... This tigers sharp teeth and strong jaws are the classical physical traits expected from carnivorous mammalian predators A carnivore (IPA: ), meaning meat eater (Latin carne meaning flesh and vorare meaning to devour), is an animal that eats a diet consisting mainly of meat, whether it comes from live animals... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Orders Procolophonia (extinct) Testudines Araeoscelidia (extinct) Avicephala (extinct) Younginiformes (extinct) Sauropterygia Ichthyosauria (extinct) Placodontia (extinct) Nothosauria (extinct) Plesiosauria (extinct) Sphenodontia Squamata Prolacertiformes (extinct) Archosauria Crurotarsi Order Aetosauria (extinct) Order Phytosauria(extinct) Order Rauisuchia (extinct) Order Crocodilia Ornithodira Pterosauria (extinct) Marasuchus (extinct) Dinosauria Order Saurischia Order Ornithischia(extinct) Reptiles are tetrapods... Taxonomy See text Ichthyosaurs (Greek for fish lizard - ιχθυς meaning fish and σαυρος meaning lizard) were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins. ... In anatomy, the stomach (in ancient Greek στόμαχος) is an organ of the gastrointestinal tract involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication. ...

Classification

Note: all families extinct

• Cohort Belemnoidea
  • Order Aulacocerida
    • Family Aulacoceratidae
    • Family Dictyoconitidae
    • Family Palaeobelemnopseidae
    • Family Xiphoteuthididae
    • Family Hematitidae
  • Order Phragmoteuthida
    • Family Phragmoteuthididae
  • Order Belemnitida
    • Suborder Belemnitina
      • Family Passaloteuthididae
      • Family Salpingoteuthididae
      • Family Hastitidae
      • Family Cylindroteuthididae
      • Family Oxyteuthididae
    • Suborder Belemnopseina
      • Family Belemnopseidae
      • Family Dicoelitidae
      • Family Duvaliidae
      • Family Belemnitellidae
      • Family Dimitobelidae
  • Order Diplobelida
    • Family Diplobelidae
    • Family Chondroteuthididae
  • Order Belemnoteuthina
    • Family Belemnotheutididae
    • Family Chitinobelidae
    • Family Sueviteuthididae

Families †Aulacoceratidae †Dictyoconitidae †Hematitidae †Palaeobelemnopseidae †Xiphoteuthididae Aulacocerida is an extinct order of belemnoids. ...

See also

• Nautiloidea
• Ammonoidea

Orders Nautilida Bactrida Nautiloids are a group of marine animals which all possess an external shell, the most well known example being the modern nautiluses. ... This article is about the marine animal. ...

External links

• The Fossil Coleoidea Page
• Articles on various fossil cephalopod topics for non-specialists
• TONMO.com Cephalopod Fossils articles and discussion forums