The earliest species ofBurlingiaWalcott, 1908 (Trilobita) from South China: biostratigraphical and palaeogeographical significance

Burlingia balangensissp. nov. from the lower Cambrian of South China represents the earliest species of this genus, and suggests that the genus may have originated in South China. A revision of the genus shows thatB. primitivaandB. obscuracan be used in order to indentify the base of the Cambrian Stage 5 when other trilobites are absent because their last appearance datum (LAD) coincides with the first appearance datum (FAD) ofOryctocephalus indicus. Available palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic models suggest five major palaeocurrents during Cambrian times which could control the migration patterns of theBurlingiaclade from South China to Baltica.