Pennsylvanian Conodont Biostratigraphy and Paleoecology of Northwestern Illinois

“Pennsylvanian rocks exposed in Knox, Peoria, Fulton, and Schuyler Counties in northwestern Illinois include 11 major marine units. The oldest marine unit is late Atokan and the youngest is early Missourian; the remainders are Desmoinesian in age. Each unit has produced at least some conodonts, and the more than 200 samples produced an aggregate total in excess of 160,000 conodont specimens. These can be grouped into not fewer than 78 kinds, considered species in disjunct element taxonomy. At least 10 multielement genera and 40 multielement species are represented. Six new species: Diplognathodus illinoisensis, Neognathodus metanodosus, N. polynodosus, N. oligonodsus, N. anodus, and Gondolella pulchra are described. Although all marine beds were formed in shallow water, generally near shore, they represent the products of highly diverse environments. Conodont biofacies are sharply differentiated and mirror this diversity. Ecologic controls that effected conodont distribution are believed to have been salinity, energy, pH, and possibly biologic antagonism. Neognathodus is the most useful conodont genus for biostratigraphy in these rocks. Four zones and subzones are based on species of this genus and it has permitted relatively precise interregional correlations. Secondary zonations can be based on other genera that supplement the Neognathodus zonation and assist in identifying units. In decreasing importance these are Gondolella, the Idiognathodus-Streptognathodus plexus, and Diplognathodus.”