3.5" Detailed, Fossil Shrimp - Solnhofen Limestone

Detailed, Fossil Shrimp - Solnhofen Limestone #113550

This is a 3.5" fossil shrimp from the 155 million year old Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The body of the shrimp would be about 3" long if it was outstretched and including the long antennae it would be around 5" long. There is a repaired crack running through the shale and the fossil with some restoration along the crack.

Come with 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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