Kōrero: Marine animals without backbones

Lamp shells are brachiopods, an ancient group of animals that superficially resemble some shellfish. Their interior reveals their true identity – much of it is taken up with a heavily folded feeding organ called a lophophore, used to filter food particles out of water. Shown here is the lophophore of Neothyris lenticularis, New Zealand’s largest brachiopod.