The Solnhofen Limestone of southern Germany is famous for exquisite preservation of fossils from the Late Jurassic Period (~150 million years ago). The fine-grained limestone was deposited in a stagnant lagoon and contains both terrestrial and marine fossils.
The limestone caught many fossils and preserved them in perfect condition, like this shrimp.
Click on the images to see the smallest details, like the veins in this dragonfly's wings.
Something as delicate as a water skater, can be preserved.
Other Fossils
Ammonites were squid-like, marine animals with external, chambered shells. They became extinct at the end of the Mesozoic Era.
Keichousaurs probably spent much of their time in the water, but could also come on land, much as seals and walruses do today, and so lived near the shoreline. They were predators and ate fish and small crustaceans. They were early Mesozoic(Triassic) reptiles.
Trilobites were common invertebrate animals that lived in the Paleozoic seas. They were among the first animals to have legs and eyes.
This Crinoid, an animal that belongs to the Phylum Echinoderms, lived attached to the seafloor and filtered food from the water. Also present are two small ammonites
