How to recognise them

White circles or semicircles (in cross-section); whole shells can be fossilized.

Fossil Info

Brachiopods are shellfish with two shells that are hinged on one side (like a door) and can open on the opposite side. Long ago these fossils were called  ‘lamp shells’ because they look like old-fashioned lamp shades. Brachiopods attach to the seafloor using a strong ligament and feed by filtering particles out of the seawater – they are filter feeders. Fossil brachiopods are usually preserved as only one shell. This is because the ligament that holds the two shells together in life rots away when the animal dies. The two shells are then easily scattered by waves and currents before being buried and fossilised.

Fun Fact

Brachiopods evolved approx. 540 million years ago and are still with us today, but they are quite rare and are found only in the deep ocean. Brachiopods were used in stone age burial grounds.