3.4" Giant Jurassic Locust (Pycnophlebia) - Solnhofen Limestone

This is a huge fossil locust/grasshopper of the species Pycnophlebia robusta from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Germany. These locusts are a very rare component of the the Solnhofen fauna. It's very aesthetically displayed on a 11 x 9.7" slab of limestone.

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.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Pycnophlebia robusta
LOCATION
Eichstatt, Bavaria, Germany
FORMATION
Solnhofen Limestone
SIZE
3.4" long (not including antennae) on 11 x 9.7" limestone
CATEGORY
ITEM
#77835
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