Allt Penycoed Stream Section is a
Site of Special Scientific Interest
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(or ''SSSI'') in
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is protected by law and has been designated as an SSSI since April 1985 in an attempt to protect rare or unique features or species within it. The site has an area of 1.62 hectares and is managed by
Natural Resources Wales
Natural Resources Wales ( cy, Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru) is a Welsh Government sponsored body, which became operational from 1 April 2013, when it took over the management of the natural resources of Wales. It was formed from a merger of the Count ...
.
This site is designated due to its geological qualities. In Wales, geological sites range from quarries to rocky outcrops and massive sea-cliffs. 30% of SSSIs in Wales are notified for geological and geomorphological features.
This stream section provides valuable information of dense turbidite/shale sequence, demonstrating the base of the member and good sections in the underlying Pibwr mudstones, which shows trilobite faunas representative of major ecological changes related to water depth and oxygenation around 500 million years ago. Trilobites are the fossilized remains of a new extinct group of sea-living arthropods, which have been recorded from this site and helped geologists understand conditions of the sea bed during the accumulation of sediment. The rich fossil assemblage has also enabled geologists to compare this section with rocks of a similar age all through South wales and the rest of the British Isles.
See also
*
National nature reserves in Wales
National nature reserves in Wales are selected and designated by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) (formerly the Countryside Council for Wales). There are 76 reserves all of which are also SSSIs, they cover , or less than 1.5% of the land area of Wale ...
*
List of Ramsar sites in Wales
This list of Ramsar sites in Wales includes wetlands that are considered to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Wales currently has 10 sites designated as "Wetlands of International Importance" with a surface area of . For ...
References
Natural Resource Wales website
External links
Old Countryside Council for Wales website
{{Authority control
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Carmarthen & Dinefwr
Protected areas established in 1985
1985 establishments in Wales