lamp shell

American  

Or lampshell

noun

1. a mollusklike marine animal; brachiopod.

---

lamp shell British  

noun

1. another name for a brachiopod

---

Etymology

Origin of lamp shell

First recorded in 1850–55; so called because its shape was thought to resemble that of an ancient Roman oil lamp

Example Sentences

Marine worms called lamp shells have violet to pink blood, according to the American Chemical Society.

From Seattle Times

Switching to ecology, Paine studied a living fossil: a species of lamp shell, or brachiopod, for his 1961 PhD.

From Nature

The experts studied four types of creatures - clams, sea snails, lamp shells and sea urchins - at 12 sites, stretching across the globe from the Arctic to the Antarctic.

From Scientific American

Four-day-old lamp shell larvae, for example, have puzzling dark spots on either side of the front end of their bodies.

From New York Times

The old limestones contain great quantities of "lamp shells," which are old-fashioned bivalves.

From Project Gutenberg