Phenomenal Fossil Shrimp (Aeger) - Solnhofen Limestone

This is a phenomenally preserved fossil shrimp (Aeger spinipes) from the 155 million year old Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The body itself would be about 4" long if it was outstretched, and about 7.5" long including antennae. It's very detailed and beautifully preserved on a 15.2 x 9.25" slab of limestone.

Often on these specimens there will be spots were the exoskeleton chipped away during collection, requiring some touchup restoration. However, this is not the case with this one. It is completely restoration-free. A truly breathtaking Solnhofen specimen!

The rock has been back with concrete board and is accompanied by a display stand.

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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