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A fossiliferous borehole section within the Ballantrae ophiolite

Abstract

The core recovered during a drilling programme in the Ballantrae ophiolite complex, south-west Scotland1,2 includes a 16-m section through highly fossiliferous strata. The borehole containing this section was sunk at North Ballaird (Fig. 1) 100-m west of the abandoned farm buildings [NGR: NX 1210 8777] with an azimuth of 150° and an inclination of 50°. The fossiliferous sequence lies between 24 and 40m from the surface (125 m above OD) and contains a rich assemblage of Middle Arenig (475–480 Myr) graptolites accompanied by inarticulate brachiopods and rare conodonts. Of particular importance is the presence of Pseudisograptus dumosus (Harris), an Australasian species not previously recorded from Europe.

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References

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Stone, P., Strachan, I. A fossiliferous borehole section within the Ballantrae ophiolite. Nature 293, 455–457 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293455a0

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