Glenarbuck
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Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Palaeozoic Palaeobotany | Favourable | — | 2013-09-25 |
Geology & landscape
Geological Period: Carboniferous
Landscape processes: Fluvial
Description
GLENARBUCK Glenarbuck, situated 1km to the north-east of Bowling, on the Kilpatrick Braes, is internationally important for its unique permineralised fossil flora, which formed around 343 million years ago during the latest Tournaisian to earliest Visean (Early Carboniferous). It is the same age as the better known Loch Humphrey Burn flora, with which it has some species in common. However, the Glenarbuck assemblage, which represents a flood plain community, has a much higher proportion and diversity of lycophytes. The type specimens of lycophytes; Lepidodendron solenofolium Smith and Lepidophloios kilpatrickensis Smith and of the pteridosperm petiole Lyginorachis brownii Calder originated from here. It has also yielded one of the only two known specimens of Endoxylon zonatum (Kidston), and the only known British specimen of Mittagia seminiformis Lignier. The general scarcity of permineralised floras of this age in the world makes this a site of outstanding importance.