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Why are brachiopods called lamp shells?
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lamp shells
Lamp shells on the sea floor off the coast of Massachusetts.
Brachiopods are commonly referred to as lamp shells because their physical appearance resembles that of ancient Roman oil lamps. Specifically, the shape of the shell combined with the animal's protruding peduncleāa fleshy stalk used for anchoring to the substrateāis reminiscent of an oil lamp with a wick extending from its opening.12