Reg. Charity No. 1168330
Analysis of numerous conodont element clusters from the Lower Ordovician cherts of the Burubaital Formation in central Kazakhstan reveals that the apparatus of Paracordylodus gracilis Lindströum, 1955 consisted of 15 elements: two M elements, nine S elements (including 1 S0), and four P elements (2 P1, 2 P2). The clusters probably originated as faecal pellets, but the best preserved indicate that the architecture of the apparatus of P. gracilis was comparable to that of ozarkodinid conodonts, providing strong support for the hypothesis that the 15-element 2M-9S-4P apparatus plan was plesiomorphic for conodonts with morphologically complex elements. All the elements within the P. gracilis clusters appear to be at a similar stage of ontogeny, and there is no evidence for late addition or replacement of elements. Analysis of element growth suggests that the relative dimensions of some elements changed during ontogeny, but the available data support the hypothesis that the growth of the apparatus as a whole was isometric. The size distribution of P. gracilis in the Burubaital Formation suggests that individuals in a particular size range were preferentially selected for consumption by predators. The identity of these predators is unknown, but they may have included other P. gracilis.