Editing Conodont (section)

=== Full apparatus ===
<gallery widths="200">
File:Hindeodus elements.jpg|Complete element set of the conodont ''[[Hindeodus parvus]]''
File:Archeognathus primus.png|Preserved articulated association of conodont elements belonging to the species ''[[Archeognathus]] primus'' (Ordovician, North America)
</gallery>The conodont apparatus may comprise a number of discrete elements, including the spathognathiform, ozarkodiniform, trichonodelliform, neoprioniodiform, and other forms.<ref>{{Cite journal| jstor = 1303249| pages = 227–235| title = Appalachignathus, a New Multielement Conodont Genus from the Middle Ordovician of North America| journal = Journal of Paleontology| volume = 48| issue = 2| year = 1974 |last1=Bergström| first1 = S. M. |last2=Carnes| first2 = J. B. |last3=Ethington| first3 = R. L. |last4=Votaw| first4 = R. B. |last5=Wigley| first5 = P. B. | doi = 10.1666/0022-3360(2001)075<1174:CPPF>2.0.CO;2| bibcode = 2001JPal...75.1174S| s2cid = 53395896}}</ref>

In the 1930s, the concept of conodont assemblages was described by Hermann Schmidt<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1007/BF03041668 | volume=16 | title=Conodonten-Funde in ursprünglichem Zusammenhang | year=1934 | journal=Paläontologische Zeitschrift | pages=76–85 | last1 = Schmidt | first1 = Hermann| issue=1–2 | bibcode=1934PalZ...16...76S | s2cid=128496416 }}</ref> and by Harold W. Scott in 1934.<ref>Harold W. Scott, "The Zoological Relationships of the Conodonts. ''Journal of Paleontology'', Vol. 8, No. 4 (Dec., 1934), pages 448-455 ([https://www.jstor.org/stable/1298133 Stable URL])</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Scott | first1 = Harold W. | year = 1942| title = Conodont Assemblages from the Heath Formation, Montana | journal = Journal of Paleontology | volume = 16 | issue = 3| pages = 293–300 | jstor = 1298905 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dunn | first1 = David L. | year = 1965 | title = Late Mississippian conodonts from the Bird Spring Formation in Nevada | url = http://jpaleontol.geoscienceworld.org/content/39/6/1145.abstract | journal = Journal of Paleontology | volume = 39 | page = 6 | access-date = 2016-07-15 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160818021816/http://jpaleontol.geoscienceworld.org/content/39/6/1145.abstract | archive-date = 2016-08-18 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Barnes | first1 = Christopher R. | year = 1967| title = A Questionable Natural Conodont Assemblage from Middle Ordovician Limestone, Ottawa, Canada | journal = Journal of Paleontology | volume = 41 | issue = 6| pages = 1557–1560 | jstor = 1302203 }}</ref>

==== Element types ====
[[File:Manticolepis subrecta.jpg|thumb|right|Model of elements of ''[[Manticolepis|Manticolepis subrecta]]'' – a conodont from the Upper Frasnian of Poland – photography taken in the Geological Museum of the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw]]
The arrangement of elements in [[Ozarkodinida|ozarkodinids]] and other complex conodonts was first reconstructed from extremely well-preserved [[taxa]] by Briggs ''et al.'' (1983),<ref name="Briggs-1983" /> although loosely articulated conodont elements are reported as early as 1971.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Purnell |first1=Mark A. |date=1 April 1993 |title=Feeding mechanisms in conodonts and the function of the earliest vertebrate hard tissues |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249519692 |journal=Geology |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=375–377 |bibcode=1993Geo....21..375P |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1993)021<0375:FMICAT>2.3.CO;2 |access-date=15 July 2021}}</ref> Conodont elements are organized into three different groups based upon shape. These groups of shapes are termed '''S''', '''M''', and '''P'''&nbsp;elements.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|volume=352| issue= 1361| pages =1545–1564|doi=10.1098/rstb.1997.0141|pmc=1692076| year= 1997| last1= Purnell| first1= M. A.| title= Architecture and functional morphology of the skeletal apparatus of ozarkodinid conodonts| journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences| last2= Donoghue| first2= P. C.| bibcode= 1997RSPTB.352.1545P}}</ref>

The '''S''' and '''M'''&nbsp;elements are ramiform, elongate, and comb-like structures.<ref name="Aldridge" /> An individual element has a single row of many cusps running down the midline along its top side. These conodont elements are arranged towards the animal's anterior oral surface, forming an interlocking basket of cusps within the mouth. Cusp may point out towards the head of the animal, or back towards the tail.<ref name="Goudemand" /> The number of '''S''' and '''M'''&nbsp;elements present as well as the direction they point may vary by [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] group. '''M''' (makellate) elements have a higher position in the mouth and commonly form a symmetrical shape akin to a horseshoe or pick.<ref name="Briggs-1983" /> '''S'''&nbsp;elements are further divided into three subtypes:

* '''S{{sub|a}} element''' - an unpaired [[Symmetry|symmetrical]] ramiform structure at the front of the mouth. Sometimes known as an S<sub>0</sub> element.
* '''S{{sub|b}} element''' - paired asymmetrical structures
* '''S{{sub|c}} element''' - paired highly asymmetrical, bipennate structures

In '''P'''&nbsp;elements, a pectiniform (comb-shaped) row of cusps transitions into a broad flat or ridged platform moving towards the base of the element.<ref name="Briggs-1983" /> Platforms and cusps are only found along one side of the structure. Individual elements oriented vertically and arranged in pairs, with platforms and cusps pointing towards the animal's midline. They occur deeper in the throat than the S and M elements. '''P'''&nbsp;elements are further divided into two subtypes:

* '''P<sub>a</sub> element''' - blade-like structures
* '''P<sub>b</sub> element''' - arched structures