The Wenlock Reef
This model of the Wenlock reef shows it as it would have looked when it was alive 420 million years ago.
Use your mouse to have a look around and identify the different creatures living on and around the reef. Click to find out more about each type of creature.
Back to the first reef view | Back to the second reef view
- area 1
Crinoids such as this Gissocrinus extend their delicate ‘arms’ into the water to feed.
- area 2
The yellow segmented worm close to this trilobite probably lived on the reef but would not have been fossilised.
- area 3
The skeleton of this solitary coral (Omphyma) will form part of the reef framework.
- area 5
The skeletons of these bryozoans (Fistulopora) form part of the reef structure
- area 6
This cross section through the reef shows the shells of dead brachiopods incorporated into the limestone sediment.
- area 7
The shells of these brachiopods (Atrypa) will become incorporated into the sediment when they die.
Reef destroyers