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Description: | This is the fossilised internal guard of a belemnite. They are often called stone-thunderbolts. It is easy to see how they got this name, with their pointed, bullet-like shape. These fossils are also known as Devil's Fingers or St. Peter's Fingers in some areas. Some groups of belemnites have been interpreted as fossilised vomit. Large numbers of belemnites were eaten by ichthyosaurs, the large marine reptiles that looked a bit like dolphins. The belemnites are so sharp that they would have damaged the internal organs of ichthyosaurs if they had passed through their digestive systems. It is much more likely that they were vomited out, in much the same way that modem-day sperm whales regurgitate the indigestible beaks of squid they have eaten. | License: | http://www.imagine.org.uk/about/copyright/ | Rights holder: | Tyne & Wear Museums | Subjects: | fossils natural world | Source: | Tyne and Wear Imagine | Identifier: | http://www.imagine.org.uk/details/index.... | Go to resource |
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