Findrassie

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 57.6679, -3.3369

Also within

Moray County

Condition (NatureScot)

Unfavourable Declining (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
F1 Permian - Triassic Reptilia Unfavourable Declining 2009-07-14

Geology & landscape

Geological Period: Devonian, Triassic

Description

FINDRASSIE Findrassie is located on the north-western outskirts of Elgin. It is an historically important site which yielded the first and best-preserved fossil bones from the Elgin area, in 1857. These fossils, remains of reptiles, were evidence which indicated that the sediments were probably not Devonian, but date from the late Triassic, some 200 million years ago. The excellently preserved remains of the thecodontians Stagonolepis and Ornithosuchus from Findrassie have been very useful in recent studies of Triassic reptile anatomy. Findrassie is a key comparative locality in reptile studies.