Brachiopods (PA-01)
Brachiopods are among the most common fossils in Indiana rocks. Found only in rocks laid down in shallow seas that covered Indiana periodically from 600 to 240 million years ago, they rather resemble clams but are a distinct phylum of marine animals. They attached to the sea floor in various ways. Some had a fleshy, horny stalk, some anchored with spines, and others had a beak pushed into soft mud or lay loose on the sea floor.

Most prolific and varied during the Paleozoic Era, the oldest are 600 million years old. A few species still live in all the oceans, usually in shallow water. Rockhounds prize fossil brachiopods because of the varied size and shape and excellent preservation.

Our Hoosier State Beneath Us: Paleontology