Note on lower triassic gondolelloid conodont rediversifications with emphasis on the spathian recovery

Abstract

Conodonts, as a biotic group, next to ammonoids, pollen and spores, crustaceans and ver‐ tebrates, provide proxy clues for environment and age assessments of the rocks in which they occur. Conodonts are widely used for Triassic marine biostratigraphy. However, there are various discussions about their multielement taxonomy and evolutionary lineages (e.g., generation, speciation). Although first studies reported that most Triassic conodont species were unimembrate, studies carried out in the following years maintained that all Triassic conodonts were multimembrate. Although statistical recon‐ structions of a number of Triassic apparatuses were attempted, the discovery of fused clusters and nat‐ ural assemblages has subsequently demonstrated that Triassic conodonts are indeed multimembrate, and all of the elements exist together in the same apparatus. The present paper aims to clarify the evo‐ lutionary relationship and array of some Lower Triassic conodonts. Columbitella dagisi n. sp. is de‐ scribed.