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Last weekend I used my free time to visit two locations in the area of Solnhofen. Solnhofen is quite a famous fossil location, so many of you will probably know it.

During the Late Jurassic, this area was an archipelago at the edge of the Tethys Sea and it preserves a rare assemblage of fossilized organisms. The most famous fossil from there is the Archaeopteryx.

At the beginning I was very unsure if it really make sense to visit that location, because I often heard bad things like that its very hard to find something there .

And I have to say that it was indeed very hard to find something but nonetheless I found a few fossils and it was much fun. 

 

I was firstly for about 3 hours in the visitor quarry Blumenberg. 

 

Here is the quarry:

 

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It makes sense to bring a shovel with you because you firstly have to put away all the debris before you can extract larger plates.

 

The most common fossil there is the crinoid Saccocoma. Here are some examples: (about 2 cm big)

 

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Another very common fossil are coprolites from fishes/ammonites. They are called Lumbricaria: (3-4 cm long)
 

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Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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I was very happy about the fish remains I could find:

 

Firstly a 2 cm long fish head:

 

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And probably the best find of the day was this articulated 4 cm long fish:

Both sides:

 

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Detailed picture:

 

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At the second day I visited the visitor quarry in Mühlheim. I heard many not so good things about the personnel of the quarry but during my visit they were very friendly ! You have to sign a formula that you must drop all pterosaur or reptile fossils before you are allowed to enter the quarry but you can take everything else with you !

 

Here is a picture of the quarry:

 

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In comparison to the quarry in Blumenberg fossils are much more common there in general but the preservation is often not so good. 
For example most of the fishes are disarticulated:

 

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A 10 cm fish remain.
 

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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I also found this one:

 

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Would be rather big but the stone was so hard that it was very difficult to dig it out. A friendly collector helped out but nevertheless I have a puzzle now :D

 

Another common find are ammonites. Here is a 6 cm long specimen:

 

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All in all I have to say that I except a worse result but I think it wasnt too bad at all although I didnt found a huge fish or a nice crab. I learned many new things and I had much fun , which is probably more important when you visit a location for the first time !

 

Hope you enjoy reading this little report ;)

 

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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37 minutes ago, belemniten said:

Detailed picture:

That is a really beautifully preserved fish! You can see how well even the scales are preserved, I know some people who have found amazing ammonites that were massive and even a reptile skull I believe. I hope to someday go to Solnhofen. 

Life started in the ocean. And so did my interest in fossils;).

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I think you did really very well and found some treasures. I do love that ammonite. Thank you for the great report and showing us your finds. All the best Bobby 

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I think you did really well!!!  And it's interesting to see the differences in quality of preservation between the two sites - your fish from Solnhofen are fantastic!!!  I am partial to invertebrates, though, so I'd have to say that I love the floating crinoid and the ammonite my favourites :wub:

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

By the way - are you going to prep out your floating crinoid any further, @belemniten?  I'm just wondering because I have one myself (purchased from @Kasia) and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to have someone prep it out further or if it would be best to leave it as-is...

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1 hour ago, belemniten said:

 

In comparison to the quarry in Blumenberg fossils are much more common there in general but the preservation is often not so good. 
For example most of the fishes are disarticulated:

You base this on your finds or on what you have heard? I could show you some excellent preserved specimen if you like. Also from other locations..

 

Still nice finds for the time you had:D.I go there for 5 years now and I will go again for two weeks in August.

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Wonderful finds! I'd love to go collecting over there one day :)  I really like the fish

Opalised fossils are the best: a wonderful mix between paleontology and mineralogy!

 

Q. Where do dinosaurs study?

A. At Khaan Academy!...

 

My ResearchGate profile

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49 minutes ago, Indagator said:

You base this on your finds or on what you have heard? I could show you some excellent preserved specimen if you like. Also from other locations..

 

Still nice finds for the time you had:D.I go there for 5 years now and I will go again for two weeks in August.

I am sure you can feel free to post some of your finds for the rest of us to enjoy as well.

 

 

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You did a great job here. That fish is beautifully preserved. Some of those crinoids were nice as well. Thanks! :D

On The Hunt For The Trophy Otodus!

 

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3 hours ago, belemniten said:

I learned many new things and I had much fun , which is probably more important when you visit a location for the first time !

That’s probably true the world over, a large amount of fossil hunting is skill. You need to get a feel for a place and it’s fossils in order to really start finding some good ones. I think the ones you found are pretty cool though!

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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3 hours ago, indominus rex said:

That is a really beautifully preserved fish! You can see how well even the scales are preserved, I know some people who have found amazing ammonites that were massive and even a reptile skull I believe. I hope to someday go to Solnhofen. 

Thanks :)

Oh wow. Would love to find a reptile skull :ighappy:

 

2 hours ago, Bobby Rico said:

I think you did really very well and found some treasures. I do love that ammonite. Thank you for the great report and showing us your finds. All the best Bobby 

Thanks Bobby !!!

 

1 hour ago, Monica said:

I think you did really well!!!  And it's interesting to see the differences in quality of preservation between the two sites - your fish from Solnhofen are fantastic!!!  I am partial to invertebrates, though, so I'd have to say that I love the floating crinoid and the ammonite my favourites :wub:

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

By the way - are you going to prep out your floating crinoid any further, @belemniten?  I'm just wondering because I have one myself (purchased from @Kasia) and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to have someone prep it out further or if it would be best to leave it as-is...

Thanks Monica! 

I already tried to prep them a bit but the result is not satisfying as you can see. I am not sure which tools you can use to get a better result or if that is even possible. 

 

1 hour ago, Indagator said:

You base this on your finds or on what you have heard? I could show you some excellent preserved specimen if you like. Also from other locations..

 

Still nice finds for the time you had:D.I go there for 5 years now and I will go again for two weeks in August.

Thanks! The sentence you quoted is based on both, on my personal experience and on what I heard.  But it is clear that you can find nice things there as well! A family who digged beside me found a beautiful and large fish :ninja:

Good luck in your hunt! So you collect the whole two weeks? 

 

I would love to see some of your fossils! Please post them :)

 

1 hour ago, The Amateur Paleontologist said:

Wonderful finds! I'd love to go collecting over there one day :)  I really like the fish

Thanks for the kind words! 

 

17 minutes ago, FossilsAnonymous said:

You did a great job here. That fish is beautifully preserved. Some of those crinoids were nice as well. Thanks! :D

Thanks :D

 

2 minutes ago, WhodamanHD said:

That’s probably true the world over, a large amount of fossil hunting is skill. You need to get a feel for a place and it’s fossils in order to really start finding some good ones. I think the ones you found are pretty cool though!

You are completely right! Let's see what I can find next time :) Thanks! 

From my place I need about 3 hours to the area of Solnhofen so I will hopefully can visit the location again in the near future! 

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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2 minutes ago, belemniten said:

Let's see what I can find next time :) Thanks! 

I see an Archaeopteryx in your future!:D 

Good Luck!

“...whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” ~ Charles Darwin

Happy hunting,

Mason

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Looks like you had a lot of fun.  Im with Monica too.  Would like to see these things all prepped up nicely.   Im sure air abrasive with the correct media would do a good job of it.  Good luck and nice report.

 

RB

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3 hours ago, WhodamanHD said:

I see an Archaeopteryx in your future!:D 

Good Luck!

:hearty-laugh: Thanks! 

 

2 hours ago, RJB said:

Looks like you had a lot of fun.  Im with Monica too.  Would like to see these things all prepped up nicely.   Im sure air abrasive with the correct media would do a good job of it.  Good luck and nice report.

 

RB

Thanks! To bad that I don't have air abrasion but I am planning to get one in the future. I think a needle with a good microscope would be good too but I also don't have a microscope :ninja:

 

2 hours ago, ynot said:

Looks like You did good!:dinothumb:

Got some enviable finds for sure.:envy:

Thanks for the kind words Tony!!! 

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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Thank you for taking us to Solnhofen! And congratulations to your finds!
Franz Bernhard

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7 hours ago, Monica said:

I think you did really well!!!  And it's interesting to see the differences in quality of preservation between the two sites - your fish from Solnhofen are fantastic!!!  I am partial to invertebrates, though, so I'd have to say that I love the floating crinoid and the ammonite my favourites :wub:

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

By the way - are you going to prep out your floating crinoid any further, @belemniten?  I'm just wondering because I have one myself (purchased from @Kasia) and I'm wondering if it's worthwhile to have someone prep it out further or if it would be best to leave it as-is...

Floating crinoids are cute even unprepared :) 

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The largest plate I managed to carry home includes 21 specimens and measures more than 70 cm :)

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Here are two specimen of crustea. First one is a full grown specimen te other is a larva. 

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plesioteutis sp. CIMG2917.thumb.jpg.0de5a5b651a8809cd7bacd9033c2b46e.jpg

 

another squid; quite rare most people dont recognise them but i forgot its name....

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some crocodile poop with fish remains in it  and a worn crocodile tooth

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some finds of the direct environment of Solnhofen. So not Solhnofen "plattenkalk" but i hope you all appreciate these as well ;) 

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14 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Thank you for taking us to Solnhofen! And congratulations to your finds!
Franz Bernhard

Thanks :)

 

@Kasia Some very nice example ! Thanks for sharing :ighappy: 

 

@Indagator Thanks for sharing all those beauties ! 

I especially like the plesioteutis, the larva and the croc tooth ! Good luck on your next trip !

 

5 hours ago, Nimravis said:

Great trip report and finds- I would love to go there some day.

 

Thanks ! I am sure that you will have the chance to visit it one day ;)

Many greetings from Germany ! Have a great time with many fossils :)

Regards Sebastian

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