The apparatus architecture of Panderodus and its implications for coniform conodont classification

The apparatus composition and architecture of the coniform conodont genus Panderodus (Llanvirn-Givetian) has been reconstructed from a bedding plane assemblage associated with soft parts from the Waukesha lagerstatte of Wisconsin, together with published clusters and discrete element collections. This modelling enables a redefinition of the apparatus and species concepts within Panderodus, which is now reconstructed as a nonimembrate apparatus, with four subdivisions in the graciliform element category. Architecturally the apparatus falls into three locational domains. The architecture of panderodontid conodonts confirms their status as a distinct ordinal-level group. Extrapolating this architectural model, it has been possible to recognize recurrent apparatus styles within non-panderodontid coniform genera such as Besselodus and Dapsilodus, lending a firm basis to their suprageneric classification.