The Great Fossil Enigma The Search for the Conodont Animal

"Simon J. Knell takes the reader on a journey through 150 years of scientific thinking, imagining, and arguing. Slowly the animal begins to reveal traces of itself: its lifestyle, its remarkable evolution, its witnessing of great catastrophes, its movements over the surface of the planet, and finally its anatomy. Today the conodont animal remains perhaps the most disputed creature in the zoological world." Ian Paulsen, Grrlscientist hosted by the Guardian, November 4th 2012 "Excellent and refreshing... Will be the seminal source [on] the interpretation of conodonts and the origin of vertebrates... Among the plethora of history of science books, and especially histories of... palaeontology and the earth sciences, nothing comes close." Michael J. Benton, University of Bristol "Quite a remarkable and well-executed story... It should be of great interest not only to conodontologists but to palaeontologists in general as well as to everyone interested in the history of science. I cannot think of any other comparable work dealing so thoroughly with the exploration history of a widespread and important fossil group." Stig M. Bergstrom, Ohio State University "[A]n in-depth analysis of the complex culture of the scientists who drew different conclusions regarding the likely type of animals that produced these teeth. ... Readers will learn how scientists develop ideas and interact with colleagues, and how animosities and cooperative relationships develop and change. ... Recommended."--Choice