Tropites, genus of extinct cephalopods (animals similar to the modern squid and octopus but with an external shell) found as fossils in marine rocks of the Late Triassic Period (from 230 to 208 million years ago). Because of its narrow time range, Tropites is a good index fossil (useful for stratigraphic correlations). Tropites is characterized by a distinctive, easily recognizable, globular shell within a central keel.