4.2" Fossil Dragonfly (Pos/Neg) - Solnhofen Limestone

Fossil Dragonfly (Pos/Neg) - Solnhofen Limestone #169836

This is a highly coveted fossil dragonfly from the Upper Jurassic, Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. It's an extremely nice specimen and both the positive and negative sides of the split are included. The body is 2.8" long and the wingspan measures 4.2" wide. There is a repaired crack through each half of the limestone which required minor gap fill and touchup restoration to the dragonfly. Each limestone slab was backed with rock to provide additional structure to the specimen. Comes with a pair of acrylic display stands.

There is a coprolite (fossil poop) specimen near the bottom edge of the limestone.

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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