Mazzaella (conodont)

Mazzaella is an extinct genus of Late Triassic ozarkodinid conodonts in the family Gondolellidae. They are found in mid-Julian sediments of the Tethys Ocean, including strata in Europe (Germany, Hungary, Italy) and Turkey.

Mazzaella Temporal range: Late Triassic, mid-Julian (early Carnian) PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	†Conodonta
(unranked):	†Prioniodontida
Order:	†Ozarkodinida
Family:	†Gondolellidae
Genus:	†Mazzaella Kiliç et al. 2015
Type species
†Mazzaella carnica (Krystyn, 1975)
Other species
†Mazzaella baloghi (Kovacs, 1977)

The type species of Mazzaella, Mazzaella carnica, was originally designated as Epigondolella carnica Krystyn (1975).^[1] It has been used as an index fossil, defining the middle of three Julian conodont biozones according to a 2018 update to Tethyan conodont biostratigraphy.^[2] The genus also includes a rarer species, Mazzaella baloghi, originally Metapolygnathus baloghi Kovacs (1977).^[1]

Mazzaella appears to be a descendant of Metapolygnathus (Quadralella)^[3] auriformis.^[1][4] Relative to Metapolygnathus, Mazzaella has a moderately elongated free blade and strong platform nodes. The platform is broader and the free blade is proportionally longer in M. baloghi, relative to M. carnica. Although its overall shape is similar to Carnepigondolella, the platform of Mazzaella is smaller and not laterally restricted, and there appears to be no direct link between the two genera.^[1]

The name is a tribute to Italian paleontologist Michele Mazza.^[1]

References

1. Kiliç, Ali Murat; Plasencia, Pablo; Ishida, Keisuke; Hirsch, Francis (2015). "The case of the Carnian (Triassic) conodont genus Metapolygnathus Hayashi". Journal of Earth Science. 26 (2): 219–223. doi:10.1007/s12583-015-0534-y. ISSN 1674-487X. S2CID 84609412.
2. Rigo, Manuel; Mazza, Michele; Karádi, Viktor; Nicora, Alda (2018), Tanner, Lawrence H. (ed.), "New Upper Triassic Conodont Biozonation of the Tethyan Realm", The Late Triassic World: Earth in a Time of Transition, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 189–235, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-68009-5_6, hdl:11577/3258473, ISBN 978-3-319-68009-5, retrieved 2022-05-09
3. Chen, Yanlong; Krystyn, Leopold; Orchard, Michael J.; Lai, Xu-Long; Richoz, Sylvain (2016). Hautmann, Michael (ed.). "A review of the evolution, biostratigraphy, provincialism and diversity of Middle and early Late Triassic conodonts". Papers in Palaeontology. 2 (2): 235–263. doi:10.1002/spp2.1038. S2CID 130136468.
4. Kılıç, Ali M.; Plasencia, Pablo; Guex, Jean; Hirsch, Francis (2017-01-01), Montenari, Michael (ed.), "Chapter Seven - Challenging Darwin: Evolution of Triassic Conodonts and Their Struggle for Life in a Changing World", Stratigraphy & Timescales, Advances in Sequence Stratigraphy, vol. 2, Academic Press, pp. 333–389, retrieved 2022-05-09