Cephalopods are incredible creatures with fascinatingly intricate bodies which have existed for hundreds of millions of years. Due to their soft body tissue, most leave behind little in the fossil record, but belemnites are one exception. Thanks to an internal shell that acts as a calcium carbonate skeleton, these creatures' anatomy has been known through 200 million years of the oceanic fossil record. Within these skeletal shells, or rostrums, are traces of the oceans' geochemical makeup, with impressions of bursts of life and extinction events alike preserved within.

This pendant contains a fossil belemnite rostrum, the animal's skeletal spearhead that provided it with structure and a counterbalance when swimming. These fossils have caught the eye since ancient times and have appeared in works from the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Scandinavian peoples.

The Belemnite Pendant is set into a sterling silver cap and comes with an 18" silver chain. The necklace comes in a padded jewelry box and includes a small information card about the specimen. The card serves as the certificate of authenticity and can be found underneath the padded lining of the display box.

Each necklace has been photographed and listed separately. You can see all our currently available Belemnite Pendants in the collection below!

Belemnites were a group of cephalopods that originated in the Triassic Period and perished in the K/Pg extinction event, nearly 200 million years later. Their longevity owes itself in part to their tough calcium carbonate-based skeleton which provided protection from predation, as well as a counterbalance when swimming. This skeleton was the animal's shell, which had migrated within the belemnite's body, unlike many other exterior-shelled cephalopods.

The belemnite shell also had a long, aerodynamic shape, allowing it to swim faster than their other cephalopod cousins, providing a distinct evolutionary advantage. A similar adaptation could be found in ammonites but their circular shells, while providing more protection, could not match the speeds of belemnites.

Because of how well they fossilize, belemnites have been known since antiquity—the creature’s etymology stems from the Greek “belemnon,” which translates as javelin, while rostrum is named for Greek battering rams.

To the Greeks, belemnites were lightning bolts thrown by the Zeus, while the ancient Scandinavians interpreted them as pixie candles. Their association with deities infused belemnites with supposed healing properties the world over.

It was not until 1546 that mineralogist Georgius Agricola identified belemnites as fossils and not a purely geological phenomenon. In 1823, naturalist John Samuel Miller placed belemnites within the Cephalopoda class. Since then, belemnites have been of particular interest to paleontologists because their skeletal rostrums retain chemical impressions from the environments they lived, allowing for a reconstruction of the Mesozoic Era.

Within belemnites’ rostrums can be found traces of the catastrophic extinction events these creatures survived. Of particular note is the Early Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, one of the most severe on record. By studying organic carbon isotopes preserved in the calcium carbonate skeleton, one can reconstruct the carbon cycle that spiraled into the oxygen crisis in the world’s oceans.

By looking at belemnite rostrums, we can also see how these creatures adapted to survive the extinction event, moving out of deeper cold water to warmer shallow water. Using techniques like these, belemnites thrived until the K/Pg extinction when they were wiped out alongside the dinosaurs. These animals may be gone, but their longevity allowed the Cephalopoda class to thrive into the modern day.