Stratigraphic and Geographic Distribution of Acrotretids (Brachiopoda, Lingulata) in the Middle and Late Cambrian

The analysis of the taxonomic composition and distribution of acrotretids (Brachiopoda) in the Middle Cambrian and early Late Cambrian shows that, in the later half of the Cambrian, the order Acrotretida was the most abundant brachiopod order and many of its representatives were cosmopolites. The structure, mode of life, and biological features of acrotretids, along with the arrangement of continents with epicontinental seasmostly in the low latitudes, promoted the wide dispersal of this group on the Earth in the Cambrian.