belemnite
Americannoun
noun
-
any extinct marine cephalopod mollusc of the order Belemnoidea , related to the cuttlefish
-
the long pointed conical internal shell of any of these animals: a common Mesozoic fossil
-
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.
-
The fossilized internal shell of one of these cephalopods. Belemnites are used as index fossils.
Etymology
Origin of belemnite
1640–50; < French bélemnite, equivalent to Greek bélemn ( on ) a dart (noun derivative from base of bállein to throw) + French -ite -ite 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She mostly finds Gryphaea, ancestors of the oyster, but she also has ammonites, belemnites and sea lilies — all ancient sea dwellers.
From Washington Post
By contrast, a younger, early Cretaceous, ichthyosaur graveyard found in Chile shows large numbers of individuals, of all ages, thought to be hunting for fish and belemnites, and a regurgitation pellet containing pterosaur remains.
From The Guardian
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the ancestors of the tentacled trio were slow, heavily armored creatures, like the coil-shelled ammonites and the cone-shelled belemnites.
From New York Times
Spending hours searching for perfectly coiled ammonites and long finger-like belemnite fossils to market to tourists is precisely how Mary Anning got her start as one of the greatest paleontologists in history.
From Forbes
Fossil ammonites and belemnites are ubiquitous today Any individual land animal's chances of being fossilised are extremely poor.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
