Bay of Skaill
Also within
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Palaeozoic Palaeobotany | Favourable | — | 2012-10-16 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Devonian
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
BAY OF SKAILL The Bay of Skaill Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) encompasses the intertidal rock platform at Hangabacks and associated coastal cliffs on the north side of the Bay of Skaill. It is a site of international importance for its fossil plants. The Middle Devonian fish beds of the Orcadian cuvette (basin where sediments accumulated) are characterised by a distinct fossil floral assemblage. The Bay of Skaill site is the best developed example of this flora available. The site still has much research potential, for it has to date received comparatively little attention despite its importance. This is the locality from which Protopteridium thomsonii, the earliest known progymnosperm, was first recorded. It is also noteworthy in being the only known British site to yield Barnandeina. The latter named genus is known from Bohemia and this emphasises the probable affinity of this Orcadian cuvette flora with central European sites. This key site plays a vital role in our understanding of plant evolution during a period when most land plants were only just appearing.