Conodont

Conodonts (Greek kōnos, "cone", + odont, "tooth") are extinct chordates resembling eels, classified in the class Conodonta. For many years, they were known only from tooth-like microfossils found in isolation and now called conodont elements. Knowledge about soft tissues remains limited. The animals are also called Conodontophora (conodont bearers) to avoid ambiguity.

Conodont teeth are the earliest found in the fossil record.

Description

The 11 known fossil imprints of conodont animals record an eel-like creature with 15, or more rarely, 19 elements that form a bilaterally symmetrical array in the head. This array constituted a feeding apparatus that is radically different from the jaws of modern animals. The three forms of teeth, i.e., coniform cones, ramiform bars, and pectiniform platforms, may have performed different functions.

The organisms range from a centimeter or so to the large Promissum, 40 cm in length. It is now widely agreed that conodonts had large eyes, fins with fin rays, chevron-shaped muscles and a notochord.