An extinct marine mollusk with a coiled shell divided into chambers, related to modern nautilus, and bearing angular suture patterns.
From gonia (angle) plus -ite (stone/fossil suffix). The name refers to the angular, angular lines (goniatitic sutures) visible on their fossilized shells.
Goniatites ruled the oceans for 300 million years and are now among the most common fossils—their shells are so hard they survived when everything else turned to dust, making them perfect time capsules!
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