Some scolecodonts in organic association from Devonian strata of western Canada

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Abstract
Scolecodonts, the acid‐resistant cuticulinous jaws of polychaete annelids, occur commonly in Paleozoic rocks; a more scattered Mesozoic distribution links the fossil forms with Recent species. Although fundamentally different from conodonts, scolecodonts share the same nomenclatural difficulties caused by their usual preservation as dispersed jaws and the rarity of natural assemblages. (The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature does not recognize “parataxa,” i.e., form‐ or organ‐taxa). Few authors have described natural assemblages, mostly from Ordovician and Permian strata. Here some 30 jaws in organic association from Devonian strata of western Canada are described. Those from palynological preparations are seen in transmitted light; the others are from picked micropaleontological residues and observed with a SEM. Stereopairs of SEM photomicrographs demonstrate the spatial relationships of the separate jaws within an apparatus. Criteria for speciating dispersed jaws are discussed, and their potential for stratigraphic application is evaluated.