Brachiopoda is the phylum most closely related to the molluscs.  They
can be found all the way back to the early Cambrian, and many tens of
thousands of species are known.  In decline since the end of the
Paleozoic (they did not bounce back very well from the huge extinction
at the end of the Permian) there are only 300 or so known remaining
species, and they traditionally recieve very little concentrated
attention from the biological community, although in places they still
occur in very high densities (my most excruciatingly boring collecting
trip occured in the Bay of Fundy, when for an entire week we trawled a
bed of Placopecten in 60 fathoms, on silt.  Aside from a delightful
selection of colors and patterns of "deep sea scallops", the only
shell-bearing critters of note belonged to a pale, fragile brachiopod
that  lived on mostly dead shells by the THOUSANDS.  They were mostly
the same size, so even collecting them for a cohort study seemed a
pointless endeavor.  i DID make about $100 shucking scallops on that
trip, however..... as well as hearing enough Dolly Parton to last me
several lifetimes!!).

If anyone DOES find a photographic gallery of recent brachiopod spp
online, i am sure there would be more than a few people on this list
that would very much like to hear about it!!

From the Great but VERY Wet north, with the snow melting away in droves,
ross m.

> From: Dan Teven <[log in to unmask]>
>
> I have a tiny but stunning brachiopod shell from the Philippines; does
> anyone know where to find identification aids online?  It's hard to
> find a picture of any living brachiopod shell, much less a selection
> from the P.I.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dan Teven