Brachiopods

Brachiopods have changed little over the eons. To the best of our knowledge they are nearly the same today as they were back in the Palaeozoic era. Also known as "lamp shells" because of a fancied resemblance to Roman lamps, brachiopods filter organic matter out of the water using a finely divided sieve called the lophophore (which can be seen in the image below). Brachiopods flourish under the conditions in Fiordland and achieve enormous densities.

Image (61.33K)

There are five common species of brachiopod in Fiordland. These specimens are mostly Waltonia inconspicua. (67.38K)

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Last modified on Monday, September 04, 2000