5.5" Fossil Dragonfly (Isophlebia) - Solnhofen Limestone

This is a spectacular, 5.5" fossil dragonfly (Isophlebia) from the Upper Jurassic, Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. Complete fossil dragonflies are rare finds in this formation and there are several species present. This specimen is quite large, nicely detailed and it's body stands out in great relief against the limestone. There are a few repaired cracks in the rock, running through the specimen, but the repair work has been very well done.

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.