Brachiopods thumb|A whole animal of the brachiopod Lingula anatina from Australia with the shell showing on the left The brachiopods, or lamp shells, superficially resemble clams, but the phylum is not closely related to mollusks. Most lines of brachiopods ended during the Permian-Triassic extinction event, and their ecological niche was filled by bivalves. A few of the remaining species of brachiopods occur in the low intertidal zone and thus can be found live by beachcombers.
brachiopods thumb|a whole animal of the brachiopod lingula anatina from australia with the shell showing on the left the brachiopods or lamp shells superficially resemble clams but the phylum is not closely related to mollusks most lines of brachiopods ended during the permian-triassic extinction event and their ecological niche was filled by bivalves a few of the remaining species of brachiopods occur in the low intertidal zone and thus can be found live by beachcombers