Abstract
AbstractA comprehensive review and phylogenetic analysis of genera and species presently assigned to the rhynchonelliform superfamily Nisusioidea and family Nisusiidae suggests that this short‐lived but important group of brachiopods first appeared in peri‐Gondwana during the second half of the Cambrian Series 2, before going extinct by the end of Drumian times. Nisusiides achieved their maximum morphological disparity and geographical distribution during the Wuliuan Age, and Laurentia was probably the major centre of their dispersal. A new phylogenetic analysis suggests an early separation of the lineages of spinose and non‐spinose nisusiids. The non‐spinose nisusiids probably evolved in Laurentia by the end of Cambrian Series 4. The new nisusiid genus Bellistrophia is described. The new species Nisusia multicostata represents the first documented rhynchonelliform (kutorginide) brachiopod from the Miaolingian (Drumian) of the Alborz Mountains, Iran.
Highlights
NISUSIA is one of the most common early to mid-Cambrian rhynchonelliform brachiopods, with a stratigraphic range from the unnamed Cambrian Stage 3 to the Miaolingian (Drumian)
The first, Node 3 (Fig. 1), comprises the majority of Nisusia species, which are characterized by having a ventral valve profile that is concave umbonally, convex anteriorly (18.1), and with maximum height at the umbo (19.0)
At Node 19 (Fig. 1) the non-spinose nisusiids are united only by the presence of a dorsal sulcus originating at the umbo (22.1), while the absence of hollow spines is not recognized as a synapomorphy in the analysis
Summary
NISUSIA is one of the most common early to mid-Cambrian rhynchonelliform brachiopods, with a stratigraphic range from the unnamed Cambrian Stage 3 to the Miaolingian (Drumian).
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