5.2" Fossil Lobster (Mecochirus) - Great 3D Preservation

This is a beautifully prepared fossil lobster of the species Mecochirus longimanus from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone in Germany. The first pair of elongated legs as well as the long antennae are well preserved in this specimen. This specimen exhibits nice, 3D preservation and was prepared with a scalpel which while time consuming, yields much nicer results that other types of preparation. This is truly a top quality specimen of the species.

The Solnhofen limetones 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.