conodont

[ koh-nuh-dont, kon-uh- ]

noun

1. a Paleozoic microfossil occurring in various jagged or toothlike shapes and constituting the hard remains of an extinct marine animal of the order Conodonta (or Conodontophorida), found abundantly worldwide in sedimentary rock.

conodont

/ ˈkɒn-; ˈkəʊnədɒnt /

noun

1. any of various small Palaeozoic toothlike fossils derived from an extinct eel-like marine animal

conodont

/ kō′nə-dŏnt′,kŏn′ə- /

1. Any of various minute, toothlike or bladelike fossils made of the mineral apatite and dating from the Cambrian to the late Triassic Period. They are virtually the only preserved parts of extinct eellike animals that are now thought to have been primitive vertebrates similar to the modern hagfishes. Conodonts grew in paired assemblages in the head region of the animal and probably formed part of the feeding apparatus. They are the most widespread microfossils of the Paleozoic Era and are very important for determining the age of rock strata.

Word History and Origins

Origin of conodont¹

1855–60; < German Conodonten (plural) < Greek kôn ( os ) cone + -odont -odont

Word History and Origins

Origin of conodont¹

C19: from Greek kōnos cone + odont

Example Sentences

But a closer inspection revealed that the conodont remains were inside an animal’s digestive tract.

From New York Times

The researchers knew that surface temperatures rose about 10 degrees Celsius in the tropics because of previous scientific analysis of the fossilized teeth of eel-like creatures called conodonts.

From Seattle Times

Among vertebrates, the earliest mineralized tissue was found in the feeding apparatus of extinct jawless fishes, the conodonts.

From Nature

They report in Nature this week that the structures found in early conodonts evolved independently from vertebrate teeth.

From Scientific American

It should be noted that our biostratigraphic dating is based on many more sample points than the isotope data points because not all samples yielded enough conodont material for oxygen isotope analysis.

From Science Magazine