The ability to acquire and process foodstuffs for energy is critical to the success of animals as a whole. With this in mind, the conodont feeding apparatus is evolutionarily significant for three primary reasons. Firstly, these elements demonstrate the first mineralized structures associated with vertebrate animals. Secondly, these structures are present before the rise of the jawed vertebrates. This fact has caused some researchers to called into question the relationship of the conodont group to the clade Vertebrata as a whole. However, current scientific opinion still accepts these animals as members of the vertebrates. Lastly, both the conodont feeding apparatus and jaws arose as solutions to the issue of how to effectively consume prey. The recovery of this complex demonstrates the diversity in body plan with which early vertebrate lineages used to deal with this problem.