Scolopodus

Pander's original type specimen of Scolopodus, S. sublaevis, in lateral and posterior view and with cross-section. From Tolmacheva (2006).

Belongs within: Oneotodus.

Scolopodus is an Early Ordovician conodont genus. The apparatus of Scolopodus was composed of simple fang-like elements bearing longitudinal ridges; elements within an apparatus varied depending on position in their curvature and the arrangement of ridges.

Characteristics (from Tolmacheva 2006): Hyaline and partly albid, finely costate coniform conodonts with rounded cross−section, not greatly expanded base. Apparatuses with 3–6 morphotypes of symmetrical as well as asymmetrical elements.

[By the way, if you're thinking that the top figure appears to have a venom groove as has been reported for at least one other conodont, I'll point out that such a structure doesn't appear to be present in other Scolopodus, so it probably needs confirmation.]

<==Scolopodus Pander 1856 DJ71
    |  i. s.: *S. sublaevis Pander 1856 DJ71
    |         S. asymmetricus Druce & Jones 1971 DJ71
    |         S. gracilis Ethington & Clark 1964 DJ71
    |         S. krummi PBJ03
    |         S. praecornuformis FEZ05
    |         S. quadraplicatus Branson & Mehl 1933 DJ71
    |         S. subrex PBJ03
    |         S. triplicatus Ethington & Clark 1964 DJ71
    |--S. staufferi (Furnish 1938) [=Acontiodus staufferi; incl. S. robustus Ethington & Clark 1964] DJ71
    |--S. transitans Druce & Jones 1971 DJ71
    |--+--S. bassleri (Furnish 1938) (see below for synonymy) DJ71
    |  `--S. warendensis Druce & Jones 1971 DJ71
    `--+--S. iowensis (Furnish 1938) [=Acontiodus iowensis] DJ71
       `--S. propinquus DJ71

Scolopodus bassleri (Furnish 1938) [=Paltodus bassleri; incl. Sco. cornuformis Sergeeva 1963, Scandodus rectus Lindström 1954, P. variabilis Furnish 1938] DJ71

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[DJ71] Druce, E. C., & P. J. Jones. 1971. Cambro-Ordovician conodonts from the Burke River Structural Belt, Queensland. Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of National Development, Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics, Bulletin 110: 1-159.

[FEZ05] Feng, H., B.-D. Erdtmann & Y. Zhang. 2005. Taxonomy and phylogeny of Staurograptus Emmons from the base of the Ordovician. Palaeontology 48 (5): 1007-1019.

[PBJ03] Pyle, L. J., C. R. Barnes & Z. Ji. 2003. Conodont fauna and biostratigraphy of the Outram, Skoki, and Owen Creek Formations (Lower to Middle Ordovician), Wilcox Pass, Alberta, Canada. Journal of Paleontology 77 (5): 958-976.

Tolmacheva, T. Yu. 2006. Apparatus of the conodont Scolopodus striatus Pander, 1856 and a re−evaluation of Pander’s species of Scolopodus. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 51 (2): 247-260.