Large, 4.3" Fossil Shrimp (Aeger) - Solnhofen Limestone

Large, Fossil Shrimp (Aeger) - Solnhofen Limestone #143792

This is a large, fossil shrimp (Aeger tipularius) from the 155 million year old Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. The body itself would be over 5.5" long if it was outstretched and including the antennae it's well over 12" long.

There is a repaired crack through the shrimp that required some minor touch up restoration. There has been a significant amount of color enhancement to the shrimp, particularly to the legs and larger antennae. The price is been significantly reduced due to this restoration.

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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