4.5" Fossil Pterosaur (Azhdarchidae) Humerus - Solnhofen Limestone

Fossil Pterosaur (Azhdarchidae) Humerus - Solnhofen Limestone #159700

This is a beautiful find from the Solnhofen Limestone in Germany, a complete azhdarchid humerus bone. The bone measures 4.5" long and is located on a solid 10.5 x 6.4" slab of limestone. There is an additional, unidentified fossil that has been exposed from the rock. Isolated Pterosaur bones are rare to find in the Solnhofen Limestone, so one of this completeness and quality is hard to come by.

There is a repaired crack through this bone where it broke during collection. Due to the fragile nature of this rock, it has been backed with an epoxy. Comes with a display stand.

Azhdarchidae is a family of pterosaurs known primarily from the late Cretaceous Period though there has been some very rare material described from the Solnhofen Limestone as Azhdarchidae. This wing was identified as Azhdarchidae based on the strong humerus that distinguishes it from other pterosaurs in the formation.

The oldest azhdarchoid pterosaur from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone (Early Tithonian) of Southern Germany

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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