Morphogenetic study of brachiopods

In this work we discuss the results of ontogenetic and morphobiological approaches to phylogenetic reconstructions of articulate brachiopods on the basis of morphogenetic data. These data provide the basis for generalizations concerning phylogeny and system of orders. The ontogenetic approach was the subject of criticism mainly because of arbitrary establishment of the homology of brachiopods. The constraints of the morphobiological approach are associated with the phenomena of morphological evolution without adaptive explanation so far. As an example of these phenomena, homeomorphism of brachiopods can be considered. Prospects for morphogenetic studies of brachiopods can be connected with the study of characteristic elements of their shell structure, such as porosity and mantle channels.