Prioniodontida

Prioniodontida, also known as the "complex conodonts", is a large clade of conodonts that includes two major evolutionary grades; the Prioniodinina and the Ozarkodinina.^[1] It includes many of the more famous conodonts, such as the giant ordovician Promissum (Prioniodinina) from the Soom Shale^[2] and the Carboniferous specimens from the Granton Shrimp bed (Ozarkodinina).^[3] They are euconodonts, in that their elements are composed of two layers; the crown and the basal body, and are assumed to be a clade.

Phylogeny

This is a recent cladogram of the Prioniodontida, simplified from Donoghue et al., (2008).^[1]

Prioniodontida	Paracordylodus Balognathidae Ozarkodinida Prioniodinina Ozarkodinina Polygnathacea Palmatolepidae Polygnathidae Idiognathodontidae Bactrognathidae[Note 1]

Notes

1. Bactrognathidae is actually only one of two families (the other unnamed) belonging to a superfamily that is as yet unnamed.

Bibliography

1. Donoghue, P. C.J; M. A Purnell; R. J Aldridge; S. Zhang (2008). "The interrelationships of ‘complex’conodonts (Vertebrata)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6 (2): 119–153. doi:10.1017/s1477201907002234.
2. Gabbott, S. E.; R. J. Aldridge; J. N. Theron (1995). "A giant conodont with preserved muscle tissue from the Upper Ordovician of South Africa".
3. Briggs, D. E.G; E. N.K Clarkson; R. J Aldridge (1983). "The conodont animal". Lethaia 16 (1): 1–14. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1983.tb01993.x.