Fossil Lobster Eryma - Solnhofen Limestone

This is a very well preserved fossil lobster of the species Eryma modestiformis from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone in Germany. It's 2.65" long and beautifully preserved with the tail well displayed, a feature often tucked and hidden. Both claws can be seen outstretched in front of it as well as several of the legs can been seen.

The Solnhofen limetones is a famous Lagerstätte in Germany that offer amazing preservation of Upper Jurassic fossils. It is where on of the most famous fossils of all time, Archaeopteryx was found. The fine grained limestone makes excellent building materials which has let to heavy quarrying over the past two centuries which as a result has led to some amazing fossils being unearthed.

This area represented an 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 was devoid of oxygen. This lack of scavengers on the bottom of the sea led to amazing preservation of the fauna found there.