A genus of extinct sea urchins from the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, fossilized echinoderms with distinctive helmet-like forms.
From Latin 'galerum' (helmet) combined with the mineralogical suffix '-ite' (fossil or mineral), named for the helmet-shaped shell structure.
Galerite fossils are so common in certain chalk deposits that they're used as index fossils—geologists use them to date rock layers and understand ancient ocean environments.
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