phylum Brachiopoda

9.9

Sea animals that have two hard shells on top and bottom and look like a clam but are not clams

noun
/ˈfaɪləm brækiˈoʊpədə/

Specialized

: filo Brachiopoda

Unlike true mollusks, members of the phylum Brachiopoda have a distinct type of shell symmetry.

Examples

Researchers studied the shell structure of several species in the phylum Brachiopoda.
Fossils of the phylum Brachiopoda are abundant in Paleozoic rocks.
The phylum Brachiopoda includes species with two shells.
Many marine biologists study the phylum Brachiopoda for its unique features.
Fossils of the phylum Brachiopoda are abundant in Paleozoic rocks.
Researchers studied the shell structure of several species in the phylum Brachiopoda.
Many marine biologists study the phylum Brachiopoda for its unique features.

Synonyms

Brachiopoda

vsphylum Brachiopoda

Specialized

9.9

A group of sea animals with upper and lower shells of different sizes that live on the sea floor

does not stress unequal shell sizes focusing on hard shells on both surfaces

Surface Forms

phylum Brachiopoda singular

phyla Brachiopoda plural

Morphology

phylum + Brachiopoda

The phrase simply combines the taxonomic rank 'phylum' (a biological grouping) with the name 'Brachiopoda' to denote that taxonomic group, so its meaning is directly derivable from the constituents. This is a standard compositional naming pattern in biology and is cross-linguistically comparable, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.

Etymology

Phylum Brachiopoda comes from old Greek words brachio and poda, meaning 'arm' and 'foot'. These shelled sea animals have arm-like feeding parts and a stalk or 'foot' to hold them in place, so the name points to their body and helps identify this group of shelled marine animals.