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Belemnites

Bullet-shaped internal guards of squid-like Jurassic and Cretaceous animals.

Jurassic and Cretaceous. · Beginner to find

What is it?

Belemnites were squid-like cephalopods with a solid internal skeleton called a guard. The soft body almost never survives, but the guard is dense calcite and fossilises extremely well. On many Jurassic beaches belemnite guards are the most frequent find after ammonite fragments.

What does it look like?

A smooth, tapering cylinder, commonly 3–10 cm long, the colour of dark honey or amber when wet. Broken ends show radiating crystal structure around a central line.

How to identify it

  1. 01Look for the radiating, almost fibrous crystal pattern on a broken end — no pebble mimics that.
  2. 02Complete guards taper to a point at one end and are hollow-conical at the other.
  3. 03They sit well in shingle; scan the strandline after rough weather rather than digging.

Where to find belemnites in the UK

Map of the United Kingdom showing fossil hunting regionsLyme Regis — DorsetCharmouth — DorsetSeatown — DorsetEype Beach — DorsetBeer Beach — DevonBranscombe — DevonKilve Beach — SomersetWatchet — SomersetFolkestone Warren — KentHunstanton — NorfolkWhitby — North YorkshireRunswick Bay — North YorkshireRobin Hood's Bay — North YorkshireStaithes — North YorkshirePort Mulgrave — North YorkshireSaltburn-by-the-Sea — Redcar and ClevelandDunraven Bay, Southerndown — Vale of Glamorgan
  1. 01Lyme RegisDorset · DorsetAmmonites · Belemnites · Bivalves · Marine reptile remainsBeginnerFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  2. 02CharmouthDorset · DorsetAmmonites · Belemnites · Bivalves · Fossilised woodBeginnerFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  3. 03SeatownDorset · DorsetAmmonites · Belemnites · Bivalves · Fossilised woodEasyFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  4. 04Eype BeachDorset · DorsetAmmonites · Belemnites · BivalvesEasyFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  5. 05Beer BeachDevon · DevonSea urchins · Belemnites · Bivalves · BrachiopodsEasyFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  6. 06BranscombeDevon · DevonSea urchins · Bivalves · Brachiopods · BelemnitesEasyFamily friendlyBeach, CliffExplore location →
  7. 07Kilve BeachSomerset · SomersetAmmonites · Belemnites · Bivalves · Marine reptile remainsModerateFamily friendlyBeach, Geological siteExplore location →
  8. 08WatchetSomerset · SomersetAmmonites · Bivalves · BelemnitesModerateBeach, CliffExplore location →

Regions

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