#brachiopoda

[every-day-creechur]

Chirocephalus shadini

A species of fairy shrimp from western Russia and Ukraine.

image by Павлик Лисицын

[written-nature]

Her companions were all sleeping when the train entered a band of marine fossils. Here exoskeletons, there ancient seaweeds, there a spray of tiny brachiopods.

"The Descent" - Jeff Long

[sinasinasinas]

Spec evo derived "fish" brachiopod

(Do not take this as hard spec but rather as a fun idea with some recalling to actual brachiopod anatomy.)

[animalshowdown]

Phylum Round 1

🪲 ARTHROPODA vs. BRACHIOPODA 🦪

Arthropoda

Brachiopoda

Voting ended onJan 28, 2024

Arthropoda: Insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others. The largest and one of the most diverse phyla on Earth, Arthropods have thrived on every continent and ocean, including Antarctica. Their most defining feature is their exoskeleton, which provides both support and protection - Arthropods have developed a number of adaptations to overcome the drawbacks of, as my invertebrate zoology professor liked to say, "living in a vacuum-sealed medieval suit of armor". They possess body segments that have been specialized for their lifestyles, on land or sea. They have relatively complex brains, and many species have shown remarkable cognition. We have had a complicated relationship with Arthropods since the dawn of humanity; they have been critical food sources, disease-carriers and parasites, essential farming partners, and maligned farming pests for thousands of years.

Brachiopoda: Lamp Shells. Although these shelled animals may look similar to bivalve Molluscs, they are a completely separate phylum. Ancient relics of the Cambrian explosion, these living fossils are identified by their "lophophores", which are spiraling structures with tentacles used to filter feed small plankton and detritus from the waters where they live. These lophophores are similar to those found in Phoronida and Bryozoa, as these phyla are closely related. An anchoring appendage called a "peduncle" keeps them firmly rooted in the sediment, which makes them difficult for predators to dig up. In the Paleozoic, these animals were some of the most prominent reef-builders on Earth, producing impressive structures analogous to modern oyster reefs today.

[bestanimal]

Round 1 - Phylum Brachiopoda

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Brachiopoda is a phylum of animals that are superficially similar but entirely unrelated to bivalve molluscs, in that they have hard valves (shells) protecting their bodies. However, unlike bivalves, who have a left and right shell arrangement, brachiopods have upper and lower shells (trust me, it makes sense anatomically). Their shells are hinged at the rear, while the front end can be opened for feeding or closed for protection. Most brachiopods have a stalk-like pedicle which projects from an opening near their hinge and anchors the animal to the sea floor (see 3rd image). Some brachiopods use their pedicle to emerge and retract into a burrow. They are filter feeders, using a lophophore to feed. However, unlike bryozoans and entoprocts, their lophophore is U-shaped. Some species do not have an anus, instead combining solid waste with mucus and periodically "sneezing” it out. Brachiopod lifespans can range from 3 to 30+ years. They only live in the ocean, in areas with cold water and low light, and without strong currents or waves, Some are commonly known as “lamp shells.”

There are two major categories of brachiopod; articulate and inarticulate. Articulate refers to the tooth-and-groove structure at the hinge of the shell, which inarticulate brachiopods lack. Inarticulate brachiopods have larvae that look like miniature adults with extended lophophores (seen in gif below), which live as plankton for months before growing too heavy and sinking to the sea floor. Articulate brachiopods have larvae which look like blobs with a yolk sack and live as plankton for a few days before metamorphosing.

Brachiopods have existed since the early Cambrian, but lost about 2/3 of their once great diversity during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Today there are about 100 living genera, though there are 5,000 fossil genera.

How do you feel about this phylum?

One or more of my favorite animals is in this phylum

I love one or more of these animals

I like one or more of these animals

I am neutral about all of these animals

I dislike all of these animals

I hate all of these animals

Voting ended onSep 15, 2024

Propaganda under the cut:

Brachiopods hit their peak in the Paleozoic era, occupying many ecological niches and being the most abundant filter-feeders and reef-builders. After losing most of their diversity in the Triassic, they’ve lost this position to bivalves. But we must never forget the Old Kings of Shell.

The smallest living brachiopod, Gwynia, is only about 1 mm long and lives between grains of gravel.

The largest brachiopods known lived in the Carboniferous: Gigantoproductus and Titanaria could be 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in) wide. Today, most brachiopods range from 1 to 100 mm (0.04 to 3.9 in) long, with the largest being Magellania venosa.

Brachiopod flesh is apparently Not That Great, and not much preys on them. Even fossil brachiopods are rarely found with evidence of predation in the same way fossil bivalves are. Humans, however, do fish for one genera commercially, though on a small scale. Because of course we do.

Brachiopods are apparently very sensitive to pollution, and are good indicators of water quality.

Brachiopods are the state fossil of Kentucky. No specific species. Just all of them, I guess.

[palaeonecromancy]

Happy Fossil Friday!

Who: Atrypids!

What: Atrypidae. A group of extinct brachiopods also called "lamp shells" because of their shape

When: Late Ordovician to the Upper Devonian

Where: Found most places other brachiopods are found (including but not limited to: China, Europe, and North America).

Fun Fact!: Like all brachiopods, one thing that sets them apart from clams (bivalves) is the filter feeding apparatus called a "lophophore". Characteristic to Brachiopoda, this structure allows the organism to feed by creating water currents that run over spiral shaped structures inside the brachiopod and filter out particles of food to be digested.

Why are they cool?: Atrypids (as well as other Brachiopods) make fantastic fossils for determining the ages of assemblages, as they are restricted to very specific ranges and if you find a certain brachiopod in your fossil bed, you can easily get a good estimate of the age.

Here is a link to a video of a dissection of an extant brachiopod Lingula for those interested in the unique internal anatomy of these critters.

Science warning for information hunters!: While fact checking some of the information used in this post, I skimmed the Wikipedia article for this group and found that they say the range of the group was Ordovician to Carboniferous, following the link they cited the information to, I saw they used the ranges for a trilobite genus, rather an actual Brachiopod group. Just fair warning to all the new and experienced science lovers out there, Wikipedia is a wonderful source to jump from, to orient yourself in a sea of confusing and often bloated information, but ALWAYS check their sources yourself!)

Happy hunting!

Image Credits: (Both) A. Johnson

[archipithecus]

river stuff; a small dipping bird?, some geese on a log, ripples and tiny tiny fish, and some brachiopods

[phylojennny]

I posted this to the Bodacious Brachiopods group on the myFOSSIL app. It’s important (but challenging) to know the orientation you should put specimens in to photograph them. These are three common orientations for brachiopods. You want to make sure to get an image of both valves and the hinge line! usually you would also like an image of the commissure (opposite the hinge, where the valves open) but I failed to do so for this little graphic! I was about out of space as it is! 

Brachiopods are some of my favorite organisms. They have calcitic shells that preserve very well through time. You can use these animals to ask a lot of really important questions. I’ve considered how they evolve and then used the family tree to test biogeographic patterns in the Late Ordovician. Another good question to address are extinction events, since they preserve so well these creatures are good indicators of major changes that happen on Earth. Usually you can then correlation drops in diversity with changes in climate or other major events!