Brachiopod Fossil

3D Model

A collecton of brachiopod fossils curated at the Natural History Society of Maryland. Brachiopods are marine animals with two shells, an upper one and a lower one. Most brachiopods lived attached to the sea floor by a fleshy stalk that is an extension of the soft body. The oldest fossil brachiopods are found in Cambrian rocks, which are over 500 million years old. The animals first became abundant in Ordovician time (490 and 443 million years ago) and remained so throughout the Paleozoic Era. Courtesy of the Natural History Society of Maryland which has given permission for the model to be downloadable for non-commercial educational purposes.