Name/Title
BelemniteEntry/Object ID
2011.57.100Description
Description: Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Belemnitida
Common Name: Belemnite
Age: Cretaceous
Location: Unknown
Description: Conical shape (tooth-like), with a pointed end. Smooth surface with a distinct interior (marrow-like). Color is tan to light and dark gray.
Physical Characteristics:
Belemnites were superficially squid-like. They possessed ten arms of equal length studded with small inward-curving hooks used for grasping prey.[2] However, they lacked the pair of specialized tentacles present in modern squid.Belemnites (and other belemnoids) were distinct from modern squids by possessing hard internal skeletons. The internal skeleton was composed of the guard or rostrum (plural: rostra), a heavy solid structure at the posterior of the animals. They were composed of calcite. or aragonite. The rostrum is usually bullet-shaped and projects prominently backward, but in the suborder Belemnotheutina, it is only present as a thin layer. The rostrum is oftentimes the only remains of the animals preserved (often in very large numbers in a given area).The rostrum is in turn attached to a chambered conical shell known as the phragmocone. At the tip of the phragmocone beneath the rostrum is a tiny spherical or cuplike nodule known as the protoconch, the remains of the embryonic shell. The space between the phragmocone and the rostrum is known as the alveolus (plural: alveoli). At the forward part of the phragmocone is a thin very fragile structure known as the proostracum (plural: proostraca). It is usually spoon-like in shape. It extends over the dorsal part of the mantle.Fossils which preserve the soft parts of belemnites indicate that like modern coleoids, they possessed an ink sac, hard beaks, tail fins that were either apical or lateral, and large eyes. Well preserved specimens have even retained evidence of strong muscular fibers in the mantle, indicating that they were powerful swimmers like modern squids.
Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Belemnitida
Phylum: MolluscaCollection
Museum Collection of FossilsAcquisition
Accession
2011.57Source or Donor
Museum Collection of FossilsAcquisition Method
Long-term LoanDimensions
Width
3/4 inDepth
3/4 inLength
2-7/8 inLocation
Location
Container
CenterDrawer
2nd ShelfShelf
Center, CenterWall
NorthRoom
Delmar Smith HallBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
PermanentMoved By
Steve MillerDate
August 4, 2011Location
Room
Fossil RoomBuilding
Crater Rock MuseumCategory
Exhibit
