Natural cluster of Brachiopods from St. Leon, Indiana.
All photos from the Kchodl Collection of Fossils
Brachiopods are one of the most common and recognizable fossils found around the world. Brachiopods are exclusively marine, living in the prehistoric saltwater seas. There have been about 30,000 fossil species described to this date. There still are around 385 brachiopod species in the oceans today occupying the deep oceans and oceans near the polar regions.