Kellaways - West Tytherton, River Avon

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 51.4725, -2.0815

Also within

Wiltshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (2)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
ST944748 Favourable 3.92 2009-10-02
ST946757 Favourable 3.92 2009-10-02

Geology & landscape

Rock Type: Sandstone

Description

Description Kellaways West Tytherton is a river bank section along the River Avon in Wiltshire situated one kilometre south east of Langley Burrell. The site is the historical type locality for the Callovian Stage; the stage name being derived from a Latinisation of 'Kellaways'. The locality includes a number of highly fossiliferous exposures of the famous 'Kellaways Rock', a calcareous sandstone yielding abundant well preserved bivalves, gastropods, brachiopods, belemnites and ammonites. The site includes the designated type localities of the Kellaways Sand Member, which includes the 'Kellaways Rock' itself and also the underlying Kellaways Clay Member of the Kellaways Formation in a borehole section. The Kellaways district is also the type locality of many important invertebrate species, especially ammonites; the latter include the internationally important stratigraphic index species Sigalocerascalloviense Sowerby and Sigaloceras micans Buckman and around 17 other nominal species. The Kellaways exposures are of great international and historical significance and constitute the most important single Callovian locality in Britain.

Plant communities

A9 — Fast flowing river and stream, Marginal and inundation, Pond ditch and canal, Sluggish river and stream

Potamogeton natans community

Schoenoplectus lacustris, Juncus bulbosus, Sparganium angustifolium, Sparganium erectum, Sparganium minimum, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Lemna trisulca, Nymphaea alba, Callitriche platycarpa, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus trichophyllus, Glyceria fluitans, Chara subspinosa

A14 — Fast flowing river and stream

Myriophyllum alterniflorum community

Isolepis fluitans, Juncus bulbosus, Fontinalis antipyretica, Lobelia dortmanna, Equisetum fluviatile, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Littorella uniflora, Potamogeton filiformis, Potamogeton gramineus, Potamogeton natans, Ranunculus peltatus, Chara spp., Nitella hyalina

A17 — Chalk river and stream, Fast flowing river and stream

Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans community

Berula erecta, Nasturtium officinale, Elodea canadensis, Lemna minor, Callitriche stagnalis, Veronica beccabunga, Polygonum amphibium, Polygonum hydropiper, Potamogeton crispus, Potamogeton pectinatus, Ranunculus penicillatus ssp. pseudofluitans

A18 — Fast flowing river and stream

Ranunculus fluitans community

Fontinalis antipyretica, Fontinalis squamosa var. curnowii, Myriophyllum alterniflorum, Myriophyllum spicatum, Elodea canadensis, Mentha aquatica, Lemna gibba, Lemna minor, Potamogeton perfoliatus, Ranunculus fluitans, Glyceria fluitans, Phalaris arundinacea