Brachiopods (/ ˈbrækioʊˌpɒd /), phylum Brachiopoda, are a phylum of animals that have hard "valves" (shells) on the upper and lower surfaces, unlike the left and right arrangement in bivalve molluscs. Brachiopod valves are hinged at the rear end, while the front can be opened for feeding or closed for protection.

Oct 7, 2024 · Brachiopods, also known as lamp shells, are marine invertebrates characterized by two hard valves or shells located on their dorsal and ventral sides, in contrast to the lateral shells of molluscan bivalves. This ancient group of organisms has existed for at least 600 million years and constitutes the phylum Brachiopoda.

Oct 25, 2019 · Brachiopods are marine invertebrates, meaning they have no backbone, and are one of the few animal groups that live only in the ocean. They live on the ocean bottom in a variety of places, including soft sediments, on rocks, reefs, or in rock crevices where some even anchor themselves with a muscular stalk called a pedicle.

Brachiopods are virtually defenceless and their shell, enclosing the animal’s organs, is the only protection against predators. Most are permanently attached by a fleshy stalk (the pedicle) to a hard, sea-floor surface and are incapable of actively pursuing food.

Oct 25, 2024 · Brachiopoda were a dominant group of marine organisms during the Paleozoic. Their name comes from the Greek words brachion, meaning “arm,” and podos, meaning “foot.” This references to their internal anatomy. Brachiopods were once thought to be mollusks, which have a muscular internal foot.

However, from the Cambrian to the Permian (542 to 252 million years ago), another group of organisms called brachiopods dominated the world's oceans. Over 12,000 fossil species of these hinge-valved organisms have been described, but only 330 species remain alive today.

Traditionally, brachiopods have been separated into two major groups: the Inarticulates (brachiopods with phosphatic shells) and Articulates (everything else).

Jul 8, 2023 · Brachiopods, often referred to as “lampshells,” are a group of marine invertebrates that have existed on Earth for over half a billion years. They are members of the phylum Brachiopoda and are considered one of the oldest known animal groups, with a rich fossil record stretching back to the early Cambrian period.

Jan 5, 2023 · Brachiopods are a type of marine invertebrate (lacking a backbone) animal. Their shells have two valves attached along a hinge, similar to clams. Although they had two shell valves protecting soft parts inside, as clams (bivalves, pelecypods) have, all similarity ends there.

Some of the oldest shelly invertebrate fossils known are brachiopods. They have a fossil record stretching back to the start of the Cambrian Period, some 570 million years ago (Table 1). Brachiopods are still living in the world’s oceans. It is the …