Conodont elements, consisting of crown and basal tissue are the well-known fossilized hard parts of Conodonta (extinct marine chordates), but the taphonomic processes leading to decomposition or remineralization of the basal tissue are not well understood. Here we focus on the taphonomy of basal tissue, reviewing the published record and describing new material from Asia and Europe (248 occurrences globally). These include crown and basal tissue in conjunction, and isolated basal bodies showing different stages of preservation. Some isolated specimens resemble phosphate rings similar to those assigned to Phosphannulus universalis. High-resolution biostratigraphy indicates that the lamellar type of conodont basal tissue is found in all facies and depositional environments. Other basal tissue types, described in the literature as tubular, mesodentine, spherulitic or lamellar with canalules, are limited to the early Palaeozoic and found exclusively in siliciclastic deposits (with the exception of spherulitic tissue). Although the stratigraphic record of basal tissue spans the range of Euconodonta (Cambrian–Triassic), this study shows that most of the isolated plate and ring-like structures are derived from early Palaeozoic coniform conodonts. Basal tissue of platform-type elements has a much more fragile shape and is therefore rarely preserved as a recognizable isolated unit.
SuttnerKido Fig S01
EDX live map. Elemental composition of a coniform element with basal tissue (NHMW 2018/0146/0001, AFV-Cn-23, sample 63, Changyang section, Hubei, China).
SuttnerKido Fig S02
EDX live map. Elemental composition of Pseudooneotodus beckmanni with basal tissue (NHMW 2018/0146/0002, AFV-Cn-23, sample 63, Changyang section, Hubei, China).
SuttnerKido Fig S03
EDX live map. Elemental composition of Icriodus sp. with basal tissue (NHMW 2018/0147/0001, sample BL-12-29c, Blankenheim section, Eifel area, Germany).
SuttnerKido Fig S04
EDX live map. Elemental composition of an isolated basal body (NHMW 2018/0146/0004, AFV-Cn-23, sample 63, Changyang section, Hubei, China).
SuttnerKido Fig S05
Short movie of the multi-colour rendered reconstruction of the basal body and its junction (concentric lamellae) with crown tissue of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001.
SuttnerKido Fig S06
Extracted images of Fig. S5 showing stereo pairs (A and B) of the multi-colour rendered reconstruction of the basal body and its junction (concentric lamellae) with crown tissue of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001. (Abbreviations: L = left, R = right).
SuttnerKido Fig S07
Short movie of the multi-colour rendered reconstruction of tunnel systems of invading microorganisms constricted to the basal body of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001. (D) Close-up of (C), showing entry-position and orientation of tunnels.
SuttnerKido Fig S08
Extracted images of Fig. S7 showing stereo pairs (A to D) of the multi-colour rendered reconstruction of tunnel systems of invading microorganisms constricted to the basal body of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001. (D) Close-up of (C), showing entry-position and orientation of tunnels. (Abbreviations of stereo pair: L = left, R = right).
SuttnerKido Table 1
Detailed information of single occurrences provided in Figure 8 (References are provided within a separat file).
SuttnerKido Table 01.xlsx
SuttnerKido Table 1_References
References (Table 1).
SuttnerKido Table 01References.docx
SuttnerKido Table 2
Chi square test performed in EXCEL. Abundance and Presence-Absence data of (A) the preservation type and (B) the tissue type related to facies. Results are significant at P-value < 0.05.
SuttnerKido Table 02.xlsx
SuttnerKido Synchrotron raw data_Part 2
Synchrotron raw data of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001 (tiff files: 513–1024).
Suttner Kido Synchrotron raw data_Part 2.zip
SuttnerKido Synchrotron raw data_Part 3
Synchrotron raw data of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001 (tiff files: 1025–1536).
Suttner Kido Synchrotron raw data_Part 3.zip
SuttnerKido Synchrotron raw data_Part 4
Synchrotron raw data of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001 (tiff files: 1537–2048, stack list file).
Suttner Kido Synchrotron raw data_Part 4.zip
SuttnerKido Synchrotron raw data_Part 1
Synchrotron raw data of the coniform specimen NHMW 2018/0146/0001 (tiff files: 1–512).
Suttner Kido Synchrotron raw data_Part 1.zip