Figure 8. (a) Fissure 2, first exposure (mid-November, 1975) showing the locality of the original find of the breccia and conglomerates (outlined as ‘b’) that yielded Thecodontosaurus, Diphydontosaurus and other reptiles. Palynomorph-bearing siltstone laminae occur below this original find with a similar but non-laminated lithology in the same horizon as the conglomerate. (b) Fissure 2, closeup of the Thecodontosaurus breccia ‘Th’ and conglomerate band in situ. The location of the limestone that yielded the holotype of Diphydontosaurus is marked ‘D’, as is the palynomorph-bearing rock FP2.1, the original assemblage described by Marshall & Whiteside (1980). (c) Later exposure of fissure 2 (mid-December, 1975), about 17 m to the southeast of the first exposure, showing fissure formation on a vertical joint ‘VJ’, with an upper fissure fill ‘UFF’ lying above ‘keyhole’ fissure fill. The two sedimentary fills were undoubtedly continuous and the intermediate section was removed as a result of quarrying. (d) Two blocks of Thecodontosaurus breccia and conglomerate from fissure 2 showing bones (circled) and yellow dolomitized limestone. (e) Rock specimen from fissure 2 showing bands of red, that is, a ‘Keuper’ type lithology that yielded Planocephalosaurus ‘Pl’ with bands of green calcareous sediment, plus thin laminae of black silt that contained the Rhaetic palynomorph assemblage FP2.2, x1.1, scale bar 2 cm. (f, g) Thin-section of rock that yielded palynomorph assemblage FP2.1; (g) shows crystals of baroque dolomite ‘d’ that are diagenetically replaced calcite. This dolomite implies dolomitization in Penarth Group times which may have produced dolomitized Carboniferous Limestone that later was deposited as clasts in the breccia layer that lay directly above (see Fig. 8b, d). Organic matter ‘om’ is present as thin orange-coloured bands which contain AOM and represent a short-lived algal bloom that formed as a discrete event. The fine silty layers are characterized by larger phytoclasts and represent terrestrial input. The palynomorphs are discrete entities and not introduced as clasts by reworking or slumps. The R. tuberculatus specimen shown in (g) is circled, x50, scale bar 300 µm. (f) Close up of thin-section (g) showing in situ specimen of Ricciisporites tuberculatus as circled in Figure 8b; (compare Fig. 12t), x150, scale bar 50 µm.