Museum Quality 7.2" Dragonfly (Urogomphus) - Solnhofen

This is a huge, MUSEUM QUALITY fossil dragonfly (Urogomphus giganteus) from the Solnhofen Limestone of Eichstatt, Germany. Fossil dragonflies of this size and quality are exceedingly rare. The specimen has a wingspan of 7.2" and displays very aesthetically on a large slab of limestone. The slab has one repaired crack running vertically through the left wing and has been backed with resin for stability. A truly awesome specimen with great detail.

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.