箭石类

演化历史

箭石类在侏罗纪与白垩纪时数量相当多，所以它们的化石在中生代的海洋岩层中相当丰富，经常伴随着菊石类出现。不过箭石也跟菊石一起在白垩纪末期灭绝了。箭石是由杆石于泥盆纪时期演化而来，从密西西比纪（或早石炭世）至白垩纪末之间的地层中可以发现良好的箭石化石，其他头足类如杆菊石、鹦鹉螺类及棱菊石类等也可发现。

解剖学

Belemnoids possessed a central phragmocone made of aragonite and with negative buoyancy.  To the rear of the creature was a heavy calcite guard whose main role appears to have been to counterbalance the front (towards the head) of the organism; it positions the centre of mass below the centre of buoyancy, increasing the stability of the swimming organism.  The guard would account for between a third and a fifth of the length of the complete organism, arms included.
Like some modern squid, belemnoid arms carried a series of small hooks for grabbing prey. Belemnoids were efficient carnivores that caught small fish and other marine animals with their arms and ate them with their beak-like jaws. In turn, belemnites appear to have formed part of the diet of marine reptiles such as Ichthyosaurs, whose fossilized stomachs frequently contain phosphatic hooks from the arms of cephalopods.

生态学

Belemnoids were effectively neutrally buoyant, and swam in near-shore to mid-shelf oceans.  Their fins could be used to their advantage in all water speeds; in a gentle current they could be flapped for propulsion; in a stronger current they could be held erect to generate lift; and when swimming rapidly by jet propulsion they could be tucked in to the body for streamlining.

化石保存

箭石形成化石的部分大多是其结实的“护甲”，通常呈拉长的子弹形。(though in some subgroups the rostrum may only exist as a thin layer coating the phragmocone).The hollow region at the front of the guard is termed the alveolus 护甲后端的中穴内包覆或连接着圆锥状的闭锥，而闭锥就是箭石调节浮力的气室，大多数箭石标本的护甲末端中穴与闭锥部分常会被压碎，没有完整的保存下来，只有保存较好的标本能保留下来。Projecting forwards from one side of the phragmocone is the thin pro-ostracum.
While belemnoid phragmocones are homologous with the shells of other cephalopods and are similarly composed of aragonite, belemnoid guards are evolutionarily novel and are composed of calcite or aragonite, thus tending to preserve well. Broken guards show a structure of radiating calcite fibers and may also display concentric growth rings.
The guard, phragmocone and pro-ostracum were all internal to the living creature, forming a skeleton which was enclosed entirely by soft muscular tissue. The original living creature would have been larger than the fossilized shell, with a long streamlined body and prominent eyes. The guard would have been in place toward the rear of the creature, with the phragmocone behind the head and the pointed end of the guard facing backward.
The guard of the belemnoid Megateuthis gigantea, which is found in Europe and Asia, can measure up to 46厘米（18英寸） in length, giving the living animal an estimated length of 3米（9.8英尺）.
Very exceptional belemnoid specimens have been found showing the preserved soft parts of the animal.  Elsewhere in the fossil record, bullet-shaped belemnite guards are locally found in such profusion that such deposits are referred to semi-formally as "belemnite battlefields" (cf. "orthocone orgies").  It remains unclear whether these deposits represent post-mating mass death events, as are common among modern cephalopods and other semelparous creatures.

雷石

在数百年前的欧洲，尚未有古生物学概念的时代，当时的英国人认为箭石的化石是雷打到地面而形成的，所以称其为“雷石（Thunderstones）”，成为箭石化石的别称。

用途

The stable isotope composition of a belemnoid rostrum from the Peedee Formation (Cretaceous, southeast USA) has long been used as a global standard (Peedee Belemnite, "PDB") against which other isotope geochemistry samples are measured, for both carbon isotopes and oxygen isotopes.
Some belemnoids (such as Belemnites of Belemnitida) serve as index fossils, particularly in the Cretaceous Chalk Formation of Europe, enabling geologists to date the age the rocks in which they are found.