Brachiopods

We have the largest collection of braciopods listed for sale on the internet! At least 8 different types of brachiopods are available here including wholesale bulk packages. Compare our prices before you buy for the best value online. You will find brachs ranging in age from the Silurian Period about 424 mya to the Cretaceous Period about 107 mya. We currently have Braciopods from North America, Europe and Africa.

Brachiopods are animals that live on the ocean floor. At first glance they look like clams. They have two shells like clams. In fact they are not related to clams at all. They belong to the phylum Lophophorata and are related to bryozoans. Looking closer at their shells it is easy to tell a brachiopod from a clam. Each valve or shell on a clam are identicle to each other. Brachiopods have one shell bigger than the other and they are shaped differently.

Brachiopods are filter feeders, getting their nourshiment from tiny organisims floating in ocean water.

Brachiopods have a muscular foot called a pedicule.With this they can anchor themselves to the sea floor and even lift themselves up off the bottom of the ocean as pictured in the drawing on the right. 

They are found in today's oceans and have a history dating back over 500 million years. Because of this they are considered to be living fossils. In the Paleozoic Era they were plentiful in all the oceans of the world.

Learn more about Brachiopods