noun
- extinct marine animals with eel-like bodies that lived from the Cambrian to Triassic periods, known primarily from their fossilized tooth-like feeding structures
Usage: paleontology; geology
Examples
- Conodonts are important index fossils for dating Paleozoic rock formations.
- The microscopic teeth of conodonts are among the most abundant fossils in certain limestone deposits.
- Scientists study conodonts to understand ancient ocean environments.
- Conodont fossils help geologists correlate rock layers across different continents.
- The discovery of soft tissue preservation revealed that conodonts were vertebrate animals.
- Conodonts went extinct at the end of the Triassic period along with many other marine species.