Protoconodont


Protoconodonts are an extinct taxonomic group of conodonts or, possibly, Chaetognaths.
Chaetognaths were thought possibly to be related to some of the animals grouped with the conodonts. The conodonts themselves, however, are thought to be related to the vertebrates. It is now thought that protoconodont elements, are probably grasping spines of chaetognaths rather than the oropharangeal elements of conodonts. Previously chaetognaths in the Early Cambrian were only suspected from these protoconodont elements, but the more recent discoveries of body fossils have confirmed their presence then.