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Article: Fossil enigma bares teeth, tells its tale. (conodonts appear to be vertebrates)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- April 29, 1995
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1995 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Once regarded as the greatest unsolved puzzle in paleontology, tiny fossils known as conodonts are finally revealing their true identity as some of our most ancient relatives, according to two new studies reported this week. The new evidence threatens to overturn theories of the evolution of early vertebrates more than half a billion years ago.
Extremely common in rocks from 520 to 205 million years old, the pointy, millimeter-sized conodont fossils have mystified paleontologists for 150 years. Whereas some thought the comblike pieces belonged to ancient mollusks, others saw them as fossilized algae or plants, and many more suggested that conodonts represent teeth ...