Conodonts

Conodont sets with indet. species. Cold porcelain, undefined enlarged scale.

Conodonts are (not under absolute consensus) agnathan vertebrates that lived from the Cambrian to the Triassic. For over 100 years, only their microscopic teeth (the "conodont elements") were known, so there was a big mystery about their appearance.

In 1983 the first fossil with what would be the impression of a conodont body was described, showing a tiny animal (approx. 4 cm) with a long body, caudal fin and what appeared to be its pair of eyes. Since then more conodont fossils have been found with body impressions, giving us more details about the anatomy of these mysterious little creatures.