Alongside Namapoikia and Cloudina, these organisms are the oldest known evidence in the fossil record of the emergence of calcified skeletal formation in metazoans, a prominent feature in animals appearing later in the Early Cambrian.

[2] There are only five occurrences of Namacalathus (Namibia, Canada, Oman, Siberia, Paraguay) known to date, all of which are found in association with Cloudina fossils.

[1][3][4][5][6][7] Among the late Precambrian fossil assemblage in the Nama group, Namibia, Namacalathus far outnumber Cloudina and other poorly preserved taxa and ichnofossils found in the formation.

Namacalathus lived a benthic existence with its stalk attached to the sea floor by means of a holdfast, or possibly to algal mats growing on the reef surface.

[10] Namacalathus was an ecological generalist, able to colonise a variety of settings in the mid- to off-ramp environs, adapting its size to suit the local conditions.

Most recently, however (2015), it been interpreted as a lophophorate based on detailed observations of its skeletal construction, which point to accretionary growth in the manner of brachiopods and bryozoans.