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Brachiopods

An Illustration by Mary Williams of a Silurian Stegerhyncus brachiopod based on specimens of Stegerhyncus and other closely related species from the Chicago area and Waldron, Indiana.
An Illustration by Mary Williams of a Silurian Stegerhyncus brachiopod based on specimens of Stegerhyncus and other closely related species from the Chicago area and Waldron, Indiana.

BRACHIOPODS are relatively rare animals today and live only in seawater. They were much more abundant in seas of the Silurian Period. Brachiopods have a shell made of two halves. Each half of the brachiopod shell has a slightly different shape (figures 10a - 10d). Brachiopods feed by filtering tiny food particles from seawater. Most of the space inside the brachiopod shell is occupied by a special organ that acts as a water pumping and filtering device. Brachiopods do not move very much. Most are held to the bottom by a stalk (reconstructed in figure 10b). Some Silurian brachiopods lacked a stalk, had a flattened shell form (figure 3b), and rested freely on the seafloor.

At least 43 species of brachiopods represent the most diverse group of dwellers in the Silurian reefs of Wisconsin and Illinois. The ten species with asterisk can be found in the Silurian reef diorama.

Photo Gallery

Silurian brachiopods
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 21, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 20, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 19, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 18, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 17, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 16, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 15, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 14, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 12, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 11, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 10, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 09, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 08, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 07, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 06, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 10, Fig. 02, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 10, Fig. 01, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 09, Fig. 01, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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Silurian Reef Fossil illustration, Plate 12, Fig. 05, Wisconsin Geology Survey
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An Illustration by Mary Williams of a Silurian Stegerhyncus brachiopod based on specimens of Stegerhyncus and other closely related species from the Chicago area and Waldron, Indiana.
© The Field Museum - CC BY-NC

Taxonomy