21x12" Plate of Ichthyosaur Fossils - Posidonia Shale

This is a large plate of disarticulated Ichthyosaur fossils from the Posidonia Shale of Southern Germany. This 21x12" specimen contains numerous bones, probably of a single individual including 7 vertebrae, many ribs and parts of the shoulder blades.

There probably would have been more of the Ichthyosaur but this plate was recovered from the tailings of a slate quarry so the rest is unfortunately long gone. There are a number of places where the matrix has been repaired and gaps filled in and areas of restoration on some of the bones, but it's been very well done and isn't noticeable from the front of the plate.

Ichthyosaurs ("Fish Lizard") was a giant marine reptile which thrived from much of the Mesozoic era. They evolved in the mid Triassic from a group of unidentified land reptiles which transition back into the water. This line evolved in parallel to the ancestors of todays dolphins and whales, something known as convergent evolution.

The Posidonia Shale which outcrops in the Holzmaden, Germany has been commercially mined for centuries and has been used for such things as tile, table tops and fireplace hearths. These quarrying operations have also uncovered a vast treasure trove of beautifully preserved, Early Jurassic (~183 million years old) fossils. The lower shale layers have produced fossils including ichthyosaurs with preserved skin and soft tissue impressions.