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MANY FOSSILS THAT SHOW AESTHETIC MULTIPLES ON A SINGLE PLATE ARE MOST OFTEN ARTIFICIAL COMPOSITES OF SEPARATELY FOUND SPECIMENS JOINED TOGETHER. CONTRARY TO THIS, THE REMARKABLE SPECIMEN SHOWN HERE WAS FOUND AS YOU SEE IT WITH THE ADULT AND THE JUVENILE IN EXACTLY THE POSITION SHOWN WITH THE BABY AMPHIBIAN AT THE HIP SEEMINGLY BEING GUARDED BY A LARGE ADULT AMPHIBIAN. WE ACQUIRED THIS PIECE UNPREPARED IN A LARGE COLLECTION OF PRE-BAN UNPREPARED SPECIMENS AND HAVE PERFORMED ALL THE WORK OURSELVES IN OUR LAB TO VERIFY THIS VERY RARE OCCURRENCE OF SUCH AN ASSOCIATION. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE SEEN SUCH A PIECE WITH A NATURALLY POISED JUVENILE SCLEROCEPHALUS NEXT TO AN ADULT IN WHAT APPEARS TO BE A PARENT/CHILD PROTECTIVE POSE.
HEAD AND NUMEROUS BONES PROTRUDE OFF THE MATRIX IN A RARE THREE DIMENSIONAL PRESERVED STATE
ULTRA-RARE SOFT BODY TISSUE IS INTACT AND PRESERVED THROUGHOUT AS SHOWN ABOVE AND BELOW BETWEEN THE BONES
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MUSEUM SHOWPIECE ULTRA-RARE GIANT PERMIAN AMPHIBIAN WITH ORIGINAL ASSOCIATED BABY AS FOUND AND LARGE PLANT BRANCH Pfalz, Germany PERMIAN PERIOD: 280 million years ago
SPECIAL NOTE: The current laws in this region of Germany now forbid the collection of these remarkable fossils. Such legislation has permanently ended the supply of such magnificent specimens such as this one being offered here. This rare example comes from an old German private collection and was collected long ago before the ban was enacted. With digging in the formation now off-limits, these rare German Permian fossils are sure to appreciate in value and become increasingly difficult to acquire. Sclerocephalus haeuseri is a type of amphibian that once inhabited the Permian swamps of what is now Southwest Germany. Fine grade fossils of Sclerocephalus haeuseri are extremely rare and of great interest and demand to advanced collectors. There are companies that offer reproductions of some amazing fossils, including casts of Sclerocephalus haeuseri. Those cast companies look for original fossils of the highest quality to make reproductions of. This 100% AUTHENTIC specimen exceeds in quality and preservation many of the original fossils we have seen reproductions have been made from. Acquired from a large collection of PRE-BAN, unprepared specimens, this remarkable piece was wholly prepared by us in our lab facility so we can say with certainty that this is truly an authentic adult and juvenile NATURAL association as it was originally found. Having handled numerous rare specimens of this amphibian, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE WITNESSED A GENUINE ADULT / BABY NATURAL ASSOCIATION PIECE. In general, most fossils that show multiple examples on a single plate are artificial composites of separately found pieces attached together to make an aesthetic display piece. Contrary to the norm, these amphibians were FOUND IN THIS POSE ORIGINALLY TOGETHER. Such an occurrence of fossil evidence showing what appears to be an actual parent / child protective death pose sheds intriguing light into the behavior of these primitive giant prehistoric salamanders. The location of the baby is exactly where a parent animal would keep its young to protect and shield it from danger. Bone and soft tissue preservation is of the finest condition with extremely high, three-dimensional detail as seen in the above photos. Lifelike articulation is EXTREMELY RARE with both amphibians being complete and still in their living positions prior to burial. A complete plant branch with stem adds to the supreme beauty of this piece and the fossil of the branch alone would be a rare specimen of itself but the inclusion here added to the plate of the giant amphibian and baby makes this truly, a museum showpiece. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY RARE SIZE IN THE HIGHEST POSSIBLE DEGREE OF PRESERVATION AND COMPLETENESS. The fact that this is a NATURAL association of an adult and juvenile amphibian in a seemingly protective pose displaying prehistoric animal behavior makes this an important scientific fossil as much as it is fascinating to look at. Specimens of this nature define and establish the reputation of the owner / exhibiter and set the bar for truly magnificent collections of international importance. Since the deposit has since been closed to collecting since 1986, locating an exceptional specimen of substantial size and fine natural preservation on the market has become quite difficult. Heavily restored and fabricated examples do exist and circulate the public market from time to time. In all cases, the owners do not have specific knowledge of the piece's preparation so cannot fully understand the nature of how they are fabricated. Since we prepared this piece ourselves, we have privy to these details. This spectacular example has not only COMPLETE skeletal remains present but the outline of the soft body is preserved in the rock. The rock matrix is the original Permian shale in which this prize monster fossil amphibian was found in. All limbs are visible with heavy, protruding preservation to individual bones. The skull exhibits very high relief off all hard bone plates and a fantastic eye orbits that go deep down into the skull with removed matrix. You can see rare instances of bones in the body and limbs including finger digits, ribs, vertebrae and most amazing, ALL SOFT BODY TISSUE HAS BEEN PRESERVED AND IS VISIBLE IN DETAIL. Only the fossilized portions of natural origin were sealed with a reversible preservative in order to protect the fragile nature of the fossil. All detail is three dimensional and 100% GENUINE! Where the work "museum grade" or "world class" is often overused, this specimen is truly one that would easily match or even EXCEED what many museums might have in their collection. The articulation and completeness of the amphibian is not often seen in this quality. The preservation of soft body tissue from this species dates back to 280 million years ago which is quite impressive. Sclerocephalus was one of the apex predators of the Permian swamps of what is now southwest Germany. These amphibians could attain lengths as large as an adult human but most fossils are of examples less than 12 inches long. These monsters thrived during a time before the first dinosaur walked the planet. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire an impeccable and complete Permian vertebrate fossil of one of the top macro-fauna of this era. The entire back of the slab has been reinforced with fiberglass and can be safely handled or mounted on a wall should the buyer wish to have a custom frame made. ULTRA RARE, GIANT PREHISTORIC SALAMANDER WITH ORIGINAL BABY AND LARGE PLANT BRANCH FROM BEFORE THE FIRST DINOSAURS! FINEST 3D PRESERVATION AND COMPLETE - IMPOSSIBLE TO IMPROVE - FIRST ORIGINAL (NON-COMPOSITE) ADULT & BABY SPECIMEN WE'VE SEEN! 42" x 39" overall on original matrix slab, amphibian is 44" in length if straightened SOLD AMPH036 Actual Item - One Only |
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