belemnite

bel·em·nite  (blm-nt)

n.

A cone-shaped, fossilized internal shell of any of an extinct genus of cephalopods related to the cuttlefish.

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[New Latin belemnts, from Greek belemnon, dart; see g^wel- in Indo-European roots.]

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belemnite [ˈbɛləmˌnaɪt]

n

1. (Earth Sciences / Palaeontology) any extinct marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Belemnoidea, related to the cuttlefish

2. (Earth Sciences / Palaeontology) the long pointed conical internal shell of any of these animals: a common Mesozoic fossil

[from Greek belemnon dart]

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belemnite  (blm-nt)

1. Any of various extinct cephalopod mollusks of the order Belemnoidea that lived from the Triassic into the Tertiary Period. Belemnites had a large, cone-shaped internal shell with a complex structure that served as a support for muscles and as a hydrostatic device. Belemnites were closely related to the present-day squids and cuttlefishes.

2. The fossilized internal shell of one of these cephalopods. Belemnites are used as index fossils.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

belemnite - a conical calcareous fossil tapering to a point at one end and with a conical cavity at the other end containing (when unbroken) a small chambered phragmocone from the shell of any of numerous extinct cephalopods of the family Belemnitidae Belemnitidae, family Belemnitidae - family of extinct Mesozoic cephalopods fossil - the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil