Conodonts with preserved soft tissue from a new Ordovician Konservat-Lagerstätte

Abstract

Abstract. A newly-discovered Konservat-Lagerstätte in the Upper Ordovician of South Africa has yielded giant conodont apparatuses, some of which are associated with preserved soft tissues of the conodont animals. Lobate structures located to the anterior of the conodont apparatus in several specimens are interpreted as sclerotic cartilages surrounding the eyes, comparing closely with those of the Silurian agnathan Jamoytius. One specimen also displays a possible trunk trace.