Belemnites

Belemnites were animals that lived in the sea. They are now extinct. Their name is derived from belemnon (Greek) meaning a dart. A fossil belemite is usually the guard, the back part of the shell, and this does look like a dart or bullet.

The belemnite is the state fossil of Delaware, USA.

Belemnites have always fascinated people with their strange shapes, and they have many names throughout the world.

In England, they were called thunderbolts, and they were supposed to fall from the sky during thunderstorms. They were also called bullets, Devil's Fingers or Saint Peter's Fingers.

In Scotland, they were known as botstones or bat stones. They were used to cure horses.

In Chinese, belemnites are known as Jien-shih (sword stones).

In some areas of Scandinavian, they are called vateljus (gnomes' candles).

In Germany, they are known as Alpschoss (nightmare shot), Fingerstein (finger stone), Gespensterkerze (ghostly candle) and Katzenkegel (cat's skittle).