Detailed Fossil Shrimp - Solnhofen Limestone

This is a well preserved specimen of an Upper Jurassic fossil shrimp from the Solnhofen Limestone in Germany. Unlike most specimens you see on the market this one has not been color enhanced (painted). This is often done to add in, or add contrast to missing details such as antennae, and legs. It is approximately 2 3/4 inches long, a little over 3 inches around the curve and presented on a large piece of natural matrix.

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.