16" Limestone Clock With Fossil Fish & Dendrites - Solnhofen Limestone

Limestone Clock With Fossil Fish & Dendrites - Solnhofen Limestone #103626

This is a really cool clock made out of limestone slabs from the Solnhofen Limestone in Germany. There are four slabs of limestone with small (2-3" long) fossil fish on them, and many of the slabs also have dendrites. The dendrite are crystalized manganese that have grown in a tree-like, branching form in between the layers of the rock. People often mistake them for plant fossils, but they are mineral deposits.

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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