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

Now in the younger embryo some of the teeth are furnished with more than one cusp; they are bi- or even tri-conodont.

From Project Gutenberg