Inarticulate Brachiopod Larvae

Brachiopods are marine animals with upper and lower shells, not to be confused with bivalves which have left and right shells. The shells of brachiopods are hinged at the rear end, and the front part can be opened for feeding or closed for protection. There are two major groups of brachipods, articulate and inarticulate. In this video, you can see inarticulate brachiopod larvae that has been collected off the Naos dock. You can observe their lophophore, the series of little hair-like tentacles (cilia), whic