Brachiopod Information

Brachiopods are sometimes called “lamp shells” because their shells look a bit like old oil lamps. They were small animals that lived on the sea floor, opening and closing their shells to feed. Even though they look a lot like clams or mussels, they aren’t the same — brachiopods belong to their own special group of sea creatures. 

Millions of years ago, during the Jurassic period, Dorset was covered by a shallow tropical sea. Brachiopods lived there in huge numbers, sitting on the seabed and filtering food from the water. When they died, their shells were buried in mud and sand, which later turned into rock. That’s why today, you can find their fossils along Dorset’s coast.