Brachiopods have a very long history of life on Earth; at least 550 million years. They first appear as fossils in rocks of earliest Cambrian age and their descendants survive, albeit relatively rarely, in today's oceans and seas.

Do brachiopods still exist today?

Brachiopods are an ancient group of organisms, at least 600 million years old. ... There are some 30,000 fossil brachiopod species known, but only around 385 are alive today. They are found in very cold water, in polar regions or in the deep sea, and are rarely seen.

Why did brachiopods go extinct?

Anoxia would have resulted from a rise in temperature caused by elevated levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as oxygen doesn't dissolve as well in warm water. Brachiopods, which need oxygen, could have succumbed under such conditions.