A preliminary note on the dispersal of the Cambrian Burgess Shale-type faunas

The common or similar elements of faunas shared by the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna and the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale fauna are listed in a generic level so as to have a better understanding of the palaeogeographic relationship between the South China Block and Laurentia. The Burgess Shale-type faunas probably had a worldwide distribution during the interval ranging from the Late Tommotian to Atdabanian. The geographic and biological contributions to the cosmopolitan geographic distribution of the Burgess Shale-type faunas are discussed. However, newly developed pelagic larvae in many phyla, which probably acquired their first bloom in the Cambrian, might have promoted the dispersal.