Aust Cliff

Aust Cliff
	Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Location within Gloucestershire
Area of Search	Avon
Grid reference	ST565894
Coordinates	51.60175°N 2.62947°W
Interest	Geological
Area	13.1 acres (0.053 km2; 0.0205 sq mi)
Notification	1954
	Natural England website

Aust Cliff (grid reference ST565894) is a 5.3 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest adjacent to the Severn Estuary, near the village of Aust, South Gloucestershire, notified in 1954. The Severn Bridge crosses the cliff.

Its SSSI designation is due to the presence of fossil beds. The site is famous for its Rhaetic bone bed, and is also the most productive locality in Britain for Triassic insects.

The lower part of the cliff is a red mudstone, with bands of nodules of pinkish-white alabaster. Above the red mudstone is green mudstone, followed by the Rhaetic bone bed at the base of a band of black shale. Above the shale are cream-coloured limestone beds.[1]

Paleofauna

Pterosaurs of Aust Cliff
Taxa	Abundance	Notes	Images
Genus: Dimorphodon[2] D. macronyx[2]			Dimorphodon

References

The story of landscape and geology in South Gloucestershire Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine p.16
Wellnhofer, Peter (1991). "Summary of Lower Jurassic Pterosaurs." The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. London, UK: Salamander Books Limited. p. 79. ISBN 0-86101-566-5.

External links

English Nature citation sheet for the SSSI (accessed 9 July 2006)

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[1] The story of landscape and geology in South Gloucestershire Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine p.16

[jurptersum-2] Wellnhofer, Peter (1991). "Summary of Lower Jurassic Pterosaurs." The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs. London, UK: Salamander Books Limited. p. 79. ISBN 0-86101-566-5.