brachiopods
Two-shelled marine animals
Brachiopods are marine invertebrates with two hinged shells, superficially resembling clams but unrelated to them.
The shells are symmetrical top-to-bottom rather than left-to-right.
Once abundant in ancient seas—their fossils appear in rocks hundreds of millions of years old—brachiopods survive today in far fewer species: The limestone was packed with brachiopod fossils.
Preserved ancient organism
- CambrianEarliest Paleozoic period
- OrdovicianPaleozoic geological period
- SilurianPaleozoic period, mid-range
- DevonianGeologic period, 419-359 million years ago
Carboniferous · Permian · trilobites · ammonites · extinction · stratigraphy · sedimentary · strata
Narrow tissue stalk
- valvesFlow-controlling mechanisms
- mantleCovering or wrap
- cruraLeg segments, anatomically
- setaeStiff hairlike structures
coelom · articulate · inarticulate · lamella · shell · calcium · chitin · bilateral
Of the sea bottom
- filter-feederOrganism extracting food from water
- seabedUnderwater terrain below
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
- sessileAttached at base
reef · sediment · marine · invertebrate · fauna · currents · ocean · aquatic
Major classification rank
- classGrouping by shared traits
- orderMethodical arrangement or request
- living fossilOrganism unchanged since prehistory
fossil
Preserved ancient organism
- CambrianEarliest Paleozoic period
- OrdovicianPaleozoic geological period
- SilurianPaleozoic period, mid-range
Devonian · Carboniferous · Permian · trilobites · ammonites · extinction · stratigraphy · sedimentary · strata · fossilization
pedicle
Narrow tissue stalk
setae · coelom · articulate · inarticulate · lamella · shell · calcium · chitin · bilateral · symmetry
benthic
Of the sea bottom
- filter-feederOrganism extracting food from water
- seabedUnderwater terrain below
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
sessile · reef · sediment · marine · invertebrate · fauna · currents · ocean · aquatic · estuary
phylum
Major classification rank
- classGrouping by shared traits
- orderMethodical arrangement or request
- living fossilOrganism unchanged since prehistory
- invertebratesinvertebrate, arthropods, mollusk, crustacean, arachnids
- fossilsdinosaur bones, ammonite, amber, ammonites, fossils
- prehistoric lifedinosaur, dinosaurs, triceratops, Velociraptor, velociraptor
- filter feedersfilter feeder, filter feeders, filter feeding, baleen whale, whale shark
- living fossilscoelacanth, horseshoe crab, ginkgo, nautilus, chambered nautilus
- Paleozoic lifetrilobites, jawless fish, lungfish, agnathans, Dimetrodon