Stunning Australian Opal Belemnite

Weight: 6.3cts or 11.26 grams

Size : Approximately 20mm long . Width tapers from 7mm - 4 mm. Thickness tapers from 5mm - 3.5mm. 

Stunning specimen!

Belemnites lived during the periods of Earths history know as the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Together they represent a time interval of about 135 million years. The belemnites became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous Period, at roughly the same time that the dinosaurs disappeared. However we know about them because they are found as fossils, formed when the remains of traces of the animal became buried by sediments that later solidified into rock.

Belemnites were marine animals. Their closest living relatives are the squid or cuttlefish. They had a squid like body but unlike modern squid they had a hard internal skeleton.In the animals tail, the skeleton formed a bullet shaped feature sometimes referred to as a guard, but the correct term is a rostrum. These are the parts that are found as fossils.

They are wonderful to add to an opal collection. High quality belemnites also make lovely pendants. 

Ref #NB3