.5" Jurassic Brittle Star Fossil - Solnhofen

This is a Jurassic-aged brittle star fossil from the famed Solnhofen Limestone of Germany.

The Solnhofen limestone is a famous Upper Jurassic lagerstätte in Germany. It is where one of the most famous fossils of all time, Archaeopteryx, was found. The fine-grained limestone makes excellent building material, which has led to heavy quarrying over the past two centuries. In the process, some spectacular fossils were unearthed, including fossil dragonflies, fish, pterosaurs, shrimp, horseshoe crabs, and many more.

This area represents an ancient archipelago at the edge of a sea. Due to high salt content, the lowest levels in the water column could not support much life and were largely devoid of oxygen. This lack of oxygen and scavengers on the bottom of the sea led to beautiful fossil preservation.

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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified
LOCATION
Eichstatt, Bavaria, Germany
FORMATION
Solnhofen Limestone
SIZE
Longest measurement: .5" wide, Limestone: 1.9 x 1.5" rock
ITEM
#244324
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