 In death, the gape is closed and the bristles may be absent or short as they become brittle and darker in color when dry.The stalk (or pedicle) is a long white extension of the body, that emerges at the apex from between the valves, and not, as in articulate brachiopods, from a special opening in the dorsal valve.At the rear end, that is deepest in the sea bed, the skin (or epithelium) secretes a glue-like mucus that binds to the substrate's particles, thus temporarily anchoring the animal.