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Product Description
Famous for producing an astonishing diversity of rare and most intricately preserved fossils found anywhere in the world, the Solnhofen Lithographic Limestone Formation of southern Germany is legendary. Fine quality Solnhofen fossils are now much more rare than in past years. Many superb specimens come from old private collections as modern machinery destroys many fossils that were once easy to see and extract in the days of manual labor. Also, many quarries are now closed to commercial operations.
This is a TOP GRADE example of the extinct shrimp, Antrimpos sp.. The shrimp is superbly preserved with none of the customary painting and enhancement. Fossil shrimp with painted details sell for a fraction of this price but if you want a genuine example without such artificlal embellishment, then this is a highly recommended example of exceptional NATURAL quality. The carapace and appendages are well-mineralized and wonderfully preserved. Fossil is on its original UNBROKEN slabof beautiful lithographic limestone. Also on the same slab is a large 3D fossil of a coprolite (fossil poop) from a giant squid, Leptotheutis sp.. Scattered around the slab are also floating crinoids, Saccacoma pectinata. What is nice is that these floating crinoids are NOT PAINTED. Many fossils of these on the market are fake and painted whereas here, you see 100% natural examples.
HISTORY
Antrimpos is an extinct member of the diverse group of arthropods called DECAPODA. Decapods comprise lobster, shrimp, prawns and crabs. The majority of Solnhofen crustaceans are decapods. Of all Solnhofen decapod fossils, shrimp such as Aeger, are the most common and abundant. The Antrimpos shrimp is an extinct species of predatory marine crustacean. These marine creatures died out at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
Lobster, shrimp and prawns all possess an elongated, segmented body with a flexible carapace covering the thorax and head. Other basic traits are the presence of multiple pairs of limbs and a fan-like tail. Because of the lightness and loose articulation of a decapod's carapace, intact preservation of the entire creature is quite rare and the abundance of the animal in the fossil layers is most often represented by partial or poorly preserved specimens.
WARNING: Many crustacean fossils on lithographic limestone from both Germany and Lebanon ARE artificially enhanced in some way. This often occurs by painting on fine detail of appendages and antennae at the least all the way to painting an entire animal where one did not exist. A variety of sellers feature these heavily restored fossils being sold as '100% genuine' instead of being disclosed accurately. If you examine the images above and of the other crustacean fossils we offer in this section and compare the REAL detail of our specimens with what is shown in substantially lower-priced offers of some other dealers, you will easily see the difference if they post high-resolution images. Examples of some fake crustacean fossils can be seen here. The low price of one of these fossils with heavy restoration or of a pure fake is a FRACTION of what a real specimen. Quarry owners all over the world that produce these kinds of fossils are not stupid and all know the value of genuine, fine grade specimens and charge accordingly. The dramatic effect faking and enhancement has to the price of the fossil cannot be overstated.
