Jurassic Solnhofen Lobster IF-C-17-014

Eryma minuta
Solnhofen Limestone (Upper Jurassic Tithonian)
Eichstatt, Germany

This specimen is a very good example of one of the smallest of the Order Reptantia (lobsters) found in the Solnhofen deposits. For is diminutive size is had powerful pincers and could capture prey of a relatively large size. The cephalothorax tapers forward to form an oval shape. Many small specimens are found and may represent juveniles. This genus is often found preserved in a prone position and has a distinctive widely spread tail fan. This slab is 7 inches by 7.5 inches.

The Solnhofen Plattenkalk, or Solnhofen Limestone, is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstatte that preserves a rare assemblage of fossilized organisms, including highly detailed imprints of soft bodied organisms such as sea jellies. The most familiar fossils of the Solnhofen Plattenkalk include the early feathered theropod dinosaur Archaeopteryx preserved in such detail that they are among the most famous and most beautiful fossils in the world. The Solnhofen beds lie in the German state of Bavaria (Bayern), halfway between Nuremberg (Nurnberg) and Munich (Munchen) and were originally quarried as a source of Lithographic limestone.