Modification of Conodont element micro-ornamentation by clay-mineral indentation

Abstract. ‘Sclerites’, described from the surfaces of conodont elements in bedding-plane assemblages by Rhodes and Austin (1985), are shown to be indentations of bladed minerals on the conodont element apatite. Such minerals are seen coating moulds from which conodont elements have been removed, and are identified tentatively as Kaolinite. The recognition of inorganically-produced surface patterns on conodont elements, developed within low thermal régimes, is considered relevant in the light of recent studies of biogenic and metamorphic surface features.