The Late Paleozoic Variscan orogen in Europe is the result of convergence and collision between Laurussia and Gondwana during closure of the Rheic Ocean. The orogen is divided into tectonostratigraphic zones that have a distinct curvature (Ibero-Armorican Arc, IAA) and record the Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician opening of the Rheic Ocean, the migration of terranes from the Gondwanan margin towards Laurussia, as well as the closure of that ocean and development of the IAA. Three models have emerged to explain the distribution of tectonostratigraphic zones: