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Glite Dictionary
🐟 An ancient fish 🦷 A fossil tooth
conodont

conodont

1 9.9
A small cone-shaped fossil tooth used to date old rock layers
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒnəˌdɒnt/
  • Specialized
: conodonte
  • During the excavation, they found a conodont, which helped them better understand the geological time period of the fossils.

Examples

  • The paleontologist discovered a conodont in the sediment, providing insights into the ocean life millions of years ago.

  • Studying conodonts allows scientists to reconstruct ancient environments and track changes in marine life over time.

  • Accessory organisms include brachiopods, echinoderms, ostracods, pelmatozoans, bryozoans, and conodonts.

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Synonyms

guide fossil
vsconodont
  • UK
1 8.2

A fossil that lived in many places for a short time and shows the age of rock layers

is a tiny tooth fossil used as a precise dating marker

Surface Forms

conodont singular
conodonts plural

Morphology

conodont = cono + odont

Formed from Greek combining elements ('cono-' = cone, 'odont-' = tooth) that are not productive standalone English words, so a typical B1 learner cannot derive the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Conodont comes from the Greek words konē 'cone' and odont 'tooth'. It literally means 'cone-tooth', which is a helpful image to remember that a conodont is a tiny, cone-shaped fossil tooth used to date rock layers.