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graptolite
[ grap-tuh-lahyt ]
noun
- any colonial animal of the extinct class Graptolithina, most common in the Ordovician and Silurian Periods, thought to be related to the pterobranchs.
graptolite
/ ˈɡræptəˌlaɪt /
noun
- any extinct Palaeozoic colonial animal of the class Graptolithina , usually regarded as related to either the hemichordates or the coelenterates: a common fossil, used to determine the age of sedimentary rocks
graptolite
/ grăp′tə-līt′ /
- Any of numerous hemichordates of the class Graptolithina. Graptolites form colonies consisting of interlocked cuplike chambers arranged in one or more branches and covered by an exoskeleton. They flourished from the late Cambrian to the early Mississippian Period, and were thought to be extinct until 1992 when scientists discovered what is believed to be a living species. Graptolites are important index fossils used to date the rocks of the Silurian and Ordovician Periods.
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Other Words From
- grap·to·lit·ic [grap-t, uh, -, lit, -ik], adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of graptolite1
1830–40; < Greek graptó ( s ) painted, marked with letters (verbal adjective from gráphein to write) + -lite
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Word History and Origins
Origin of graptolite1
C19: from Greek graptos written, from graphein to write + -lite
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Example Sentences
The strata consist of greywackes, flags and shales with seams and zones of graptolite shale which yield fossils sparingly.
From Project Gutenberg
A typical graptolite consists of an axis bearing a series of tooth-like projections, like a saw.
From Project Gutenberg
The genus Bryograptus, a many-branched graptolite, also appears to characterise this fauna.
From Project Gutenberg
These consist of greywackes, flags and shales with bands of dark graptolite shales, the finer sediments being often well cleaved.
From Project Gutenberg
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