Auclaye

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 51.1371, -0.3310

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Also within

Surrey County

Condition (Natural England)

Unfavourable Declining (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
TQ168388 — Unfavourable Declining 0.6 2022-03-30

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Cretaceous

Description

Area, 0.5 hectares 1.3 acres Description This site yields well preserved bodies and wings of insects of Lower Cretaceous age. The Weald Clay here contains concentrations with remains attributable to several insect orders, including the Odonata, Orthoptera, Blattoidea, Neuroptera, Trichoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera. The site has produced a new Gryllid Orthoptera, important because records of crickets in the Lower Cretaceous are very few and a new aculeate hymenopteran. It is a locality of importance in studies of Mesozoic insect faunas.