Some British Lower Palaeozoic Conodont faunas

Abstract

Conodonts have been studied intensively for the last twenty years in the United States, but little attention has been paid to them in Britain. Digestion in acetic acid of some of the Lower Palaeozoic limestones of England and Wales has revealed the presence of at least four faunas. Conodonts from the Llandeilo Limestone of South Wales, the Gelli-grin and Pen-y-garnedd Limestones of North Wales and the Aymestry Limestone of Staffordshire and Shropshire are described. Four new genera, Balognathus , Holodontus , Icriodella and Sagittodontus , and a number of new species are described, and the conodont faunas are compared with those of a similar age from the United States. The value of the conodonts as index fossils is discussed.