Conodonts were eel-like vertebrates that lived in the world’s oceans from 500-200 million years ago. Only a dozen fossil bodies have been found, but their unusual feeding apparatus, called conodont elements, are common and used in stratigraphy. Despite being classified as chordates, some paleontologists argue they are annelid worm teeth. Conodonts likely ate algae and had small heads with lateral organs interpreted as eyes. Their fossils are important in the petroleum industry for identifying specific rock strata.
Conodonts are a group of extinct vertebrates that resemble eels. They swam the world’s oceans between the Late Cambrian and Late Triassic periods (about 500-200 million years ago). Only a dozen fossil bodies of conodonts have been discovered, best known for the fossils of their unusual feeding apparatus, called conodont elements. Paleontologists are hesitant to call these elements “teeth” because their complex arrangement in the mouth of conodonts was unlike any known arrangement of teeth.
The conodont elements are phosphate microfossils that are found in large numbers in the affected layers, but always isolated. Conodont elements are so common that they can be easily isolated from Paleozoic rock using acetic acid. For many decades, conodonts were known only by their teeth. It was only in the early 1980s that fossils of the “conodont animal” were found. Despite the discovery of clearly preserved conodont elements in situ with conodont animals, it is still paleontologists who argue that conodonts are annelid worm teeth, a theory that was popular before the discovery of the fossil.
Conodonts were simple, but very successful animals. Ranging in size from one centimeter to 40 cm (16 in), conodonts had no fins except a small one at their tail. This is in contrast to eels, which often have long fins running the length of their body. For a while, even after some fossil conodont bodies were discovered, some thought they were worms, although later finds confirmed the existence of a primitive notochord, a primitive, flexible backbone. Hence, conodonts are generally classified into phylum chordata (the chordates, which includes all vertebrates and some close relatives). Conodonts are sometimes considered to be an early example of skeletonization in chordates.
Although their teeth look ferocious, conodonts probably ate mainly algae. Their fossils contain large circular lateral organs which are interpreted by most of the paleontological community as eyes, although this interpretation is problematic for several reasons, not least of which is that conodonts obviously had very small heads, not large enough to house the neurological machinery. which would be necessary to use the incoming visual information.
Because of their abundance, conodont elements are crucial in stratigraphy, judging the age of a rock based on its content. Because they change color slightly with age, conodont elements can sometimes be used to judge the age of a particular stratum at a glance. Therefore, conodont specialists are in great demand in the petroleum industry, which seeks hydrocarbons from certain specific rock strata.
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