5.1" Jurassic Fossil Waterstrider (Propygolampis) - Germany

This is a large and beautifully preserved fossil Waterstrider (Propygolampis bronni) from the Solnhofen Limestone in Germany. It was previously known as Chresmoda obscura but was renamed when it was found that name was already in use. It's 5.1" from leg tip to leg tip and the body is 1.8" in length. It's centered on a large and attractive slab of limestone that has been backed with fiberglass for stability. This is the nicest example I've seen of this rare fossil insect.

Although it looks much like a modern-day water-strider, it's more closely related to the stick insects. It likely made it’s living as the water striders do, skating across the surface of the water, preying on other insects.

The Solnhofen limestones is a famous Lagerstätte in Germany that offer amazing preservation of Upper Jurassic fossils. It is where on of the most famous fossils of all time, Archaeopteryx was found. The fine grained limestone makes excellent building materials which has let to heavy quarrying over the past two centuries which as a result has led to some amazing fossils being unearthed.

This area represented an 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 was devoid of oxygen. This lack of scavengers on the bottom of the sea led to amazing preservation of the fauna found there.