Belemnitella: No measured body size data available to draw at scale.
- · Grid units represent actual meters (m); human and animals are drawn to the exact same scale with original silhouette aspect ratios preserved.
- · When a size range is recorded (e.g. 1–1.6m), the lower bound is used for scale comparison.
- · Human silhouette: PhyloPic — NASA · Public Domain Mark 1.0
Belemnitella
Belemnitella americana (Belemnitella · Belemnitella)
Known only from fossils. The IUCN Red List assesses only species extant since 1500 CE, so fossil taxa are not assigned a category.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The Delaware Geological Survey notes that a nearly complete guard is similar in size and shape to a pencil.
- 💡 It became the official state fossil of Delaware in 1996 after being proposed by 3rd-grade elementary school students in Wilmington.
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
Belemnitella americana is a belemnite that lived in the seas of the eastern United States during the Late Cretaceous and is a cephalopod most closely related to squid. It is the official state fossil of Delaware in the United States.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
It had a cone-shaped internal shell, and the part most commonly preserved as a fossil is the brown cylindrical 'guard (rostrum)' surrounding the shell. The guard tapered to a point at the rear and acted as a counterweight to adjust buoyancy.
🔍 3. Fossil Record & Paleoecology
Like squid, belemnites had forward-facing tentacles and moved backward by jetting water. In Delaware, they are commonly found in the Mount Laurel Formation, which was deposited in a shallow sea about 70 million years ago.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • Fossil taxon — the IUCN Red List assesses only species living or extinct since 1500
- • paleobiodb.org — basicTaxonInfo
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Belemnitella americana.jpg
- • dgs.udel.edu — 174
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.