Conodonts from the Andes

G. L. ALBANESI; G. ORTEGA

Asociación Paleontológica Argentina

Año: 2013 p. 156

PREFACEThe objective of the "International Conodont Symposium" (ICOS) is consistent with the mission of the "Pander Society"(international society of conodont researchers), founded in Canada in 1967, "Continuing the work of Christian H. Pander onconodonts (who discovered and unveiled the enigmatic microfossils for the first time in a monograph published in 1856), makingothers aware of the progress of our own studies of conodonts". These objectives not only covered the purpose of scientific studieson the history of life on Earth, but also their value as useful tools for locating the physical resources required for the developmentof modern life.The first meeting of the Pander Society was held in Calgary, Canada, on September 8, 1967, where President John Huddlewas accompanied by L. V. Rickard as the secretary. Since the inaugural meeting there have to date been more than 50 meetingsof the society, in its various international symposia: European Conodont Symposium (ECOS), Asian Conodont Sympsoium(ACOS), Australian Conodont Symposium (AUSCOS), Annual Meetings of the Geological Society of Amercia, and the LatinAmerican Conodont Symposium (LACON) (Argentina and Bolivia, 1990, 1992). In this regard it is noteworthy that LACONI and II were driven by Prof. Dr. Mario A. Hunicken, from the National University of Córdoba and CONICET, who developedthis research specialty in Latin America following his first field work searching for conodonts in 1968. Given the diversity of internationalmeetings on different continents, in 2006 the Pander Society decided to hold the First International Conodont Symposium(1st ICOS) in Leicester, UK. The 2nd ICOS was held in Calgary, 2009, where the proposal for the organization of the3rd ICOS in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, was selected.The discovery of conodonts from the Argentine territory and from South America was documented by Saturnino Iglesias in1949 (in a report of the ?Instituto de Geología y Minería de la Universidad Nacional de Tucumán?, Argentina). Youngquist andIglesias published a paper on these conodont records in the Journal of Paleontology, 1951, a century after the Russian paleontologistPander discovered conodonts in the Lower Paleozoic rocks of Estonia´s Baltic coast and in outcrops near Moscow. Thespecimens referred to in the publication of Youngquist and Iglesias are Early Ordovician taxa from the La Ciénaga area of theCordillera Oriental and from the Zapla range of the Sierras Subandinas, Jujuy Province. Subsequently, the first attempt to identifythese microfossils by Argentine researchers was held at the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, in the late 60´s, with the resultspublished by Hunicken, in 1970, giving rise to conodont biostratigraphic studies in the country. After this, work on Middle Ordovicianconodonts of the San Juan Formation in the Cerro Potrerillo, Precordillera of western Argentina, and the monographby the Italian researcher Enrico Serpagli, published in 1974, on a partial biostratigraphic scheme for the Ordovician System ofthe basin, began a profusion of studies on conodonts that continues today. The first reports on Lower Paleozoic biostratigraphydeveloped during the 70´s and 80´s, were followed by the first formal biostratigraphic schemes linking graptolites and conodontsin correlations at regional and intercontinental scales, during the 90´s. Studies on conodonts continued increasing during thefirst decade of the 21st century, not only adjusting biostratigraphic schemes, but incorporating new research lines, such as conodontevolution, conodont chemostratigraphy paleoenvironmental analysis, and the generation of innovative models of conodontpaleothermometry. The undertaking of the international conodont symposium in Argentina, 2013, reflects the heuristic valueachieved in a wide range of topics involving conodonts, through more than 50 years of continuous study of these marvelous microfossilsby Argentinian workers.This special volume contains 62 contributions on the diverse lines of conodont research covering the whole stratigraphicrange of this extinct animal group, i.e. from the late Cambrian until the late Triassic. These studies are devoted to conodont taxonomyand biostratigraphy, conodont evolution and paleobiology, innovative techniques in conodont studies, and the applicationof conodonts to industry. The Proceedings Volume of the 3rd ICOS arises from the participation of over 100 authors from over20 countries. This international scientific event was complemented by 3 field-trips, pre- intra- and post- symposium, to the Preocordilleraof San Juan, the Precordillera of Mendoza, and the Cordillera Oriental of Salta and Jujuy provinces, respectively,under the sponsorship of the IGCP Project 591: ?The Early to Middle Palaeozoic Revolution?; these trips enhanced the interestof many international scientists, allowing them to visit classic localities for the study of conodonts and Lower Paleozoic faunasin Argentina.The 3rd International Conodont Symposium is co-sponsored by the Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Asociación PaleontológicaArgentina, Asociación Geológica Argentina, CONICET, Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, InternationalPalaentological Association, International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), IGCP Project 591, Facultad deCiencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Universidad Nacional de Salta, and Universidad Nacionalde San Juan, as well as three industrial companies: YPF, CNEA, and Barrick.Because this important research line in micropaleontology was pioneered in Argentina by the Honorary Chair of the 3rdICOS, Prof. Dr. Mario A. Hunicken (1926-2013), a devoted teacher, researcher and gentleman, who passed away on April 10,2013, a few months before the accomplishment of the symposium, we dedicate this special volume in his honor.Guillermo L. Albanesi and Gladys Ortega, editorsCórdoba, Argentina, July, 2013