Phylum Brachiopoda
Brachiopods are sedentary marine invertebrates that possess a hard, mineralized shell consisting of two hinged halves (valves) that enclose the delicate soft body of the animal. Although to the untrained eye brachiopods might resemble bivalves (e.g., clams), the similarities are superficial, and they are not closely related, each belonging to a distinct phylum. Brachiopods are entirely marine organisms, living on the sea bottom where they filter small particles of food from the water using a ciliated structure known as a lophophore. They have a rich and well-documented fossil record that extends back to the Cambrian Period and were among the most diverse and successful marine invertebrates of the Paleozoic Era, with over 12,000 fossil species described. Brachiopods were especially hard-hit during the mass extinction at the end of the Permian Period (~250 mya) that marked the end of the Paleozoic Era. Although they survived this extinction, brachiopods never again attained the levels of diversity, abundance, and ecological importance that they had during the Paleozoic. Today, brachiopods can still be found in marine environments, but their distribution and abundance is much reduced, with only a few hundred living species known.
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Specimen: UMMP IP 4051
Taxon: Crania leoni
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 4190
Taxon: Juresania nebrascensis
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 4209
Taxon: Vinlandostrophia ponderosa
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 4324
Taxon: Rhynchotrema capax
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 4385
Taxon: Camarotoechia marshallensis
Element:
Specimen: UMMP IP 4422
Taxon: Atrypa spinosa
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 4466
Taxon: Derbyia
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 9865
Taxon: Lingula changi
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 9867
Taxon: Dinorthis subquadrata noquettensis
Element:
Specimen: UMMP IP 17021
Taxon: Stropheodonta michiganensis
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 29439
Taxon: Meekella globosa
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 29443
Taxon: Leptodus americanus
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 29473
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 31439
Taxon: Megastrophia concava
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 31530
Taxon: Spinocyrtia mourantae
Element:
Specimen: UMMP IP 32229
Taxon: Pentamerus sp.
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 37635
Taxon: Meekella striatocostata
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 37724
Taxon: Composita ovata
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 37771
Taxon: Neospirifer dunbari
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 56772
Taxon: Leptaena rhomboidalis
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 57159
Taxon: Roemerella grandis
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 61090
Taxon: Spinocyrtia "eurytein"
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 61269
Taxon: Pseudoatrypa af. P. devonica
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 61428
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 61613
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63120
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63126
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63127
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63129
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63134
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63137
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63139
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63140
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63143
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63144
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63145
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63146
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63148
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63149
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63156
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63167
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63167
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63178
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63187
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63190
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63190
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63200
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63204
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63207
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63217
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63219
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63222
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63223
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63226
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63229
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63230
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63240
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63243
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63259
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63263
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63273
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63301
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63311
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63314
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63323
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63340
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63347
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63348
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63367
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63367
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63372
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63401
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63418
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63419
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63425
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63474
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63480
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63490
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63492
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63498
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63505
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 63600
Taxon: Paraspirifer bownockeri
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 74995
Taxon: Rafinesquina alternata
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 75000
Taxon: Mucrospirifer thedfordensis
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 75617.001
Taxon:
Element: shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 75618.001
Taxon:
Element: shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 76716.001
Taxon: Indeterminate spiriferid
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 76719.001
Taxon: Atrypa sp.
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 76721.001
Taxon: Mucrospirifer sp.
Element: Shell
Specimen: UMMP IP 76722.001
Taxon: Mucrospirifer sp.
Element: Shell
