Brachiopod hard parts have excellent preservation potential. As a result, the Museum’s Brachiopod collection has more than 300,000 specimens, including 10,000 type and figured specimens. Uniquely, the ...

A. Apatite (calcium triphosphate): This mineral makes up the bones and teeth of vertebrates and the shells of inarticulate brachiopods. Calcium phosphate looks chalky when new, but can darken to black ...