The Solnhofen Lagerstatten

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The Solnhofen Lagerstatten

• Unparalleled Detail in
• Jurassic Preservation

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Solnhofen, Bavaria, Germany
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The Solnhofen Plattenkalk

• Cm scale beds of micrite
• Extremely fine
• Deposited in lagoon
• Probably hypersaline
• Possibly anoxic
• Little native fauna
• Fossils were washed into lagoon

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Free-swimming Crinoid
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Crustacean
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Small Crocodillian Reptile
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Dragonfly
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Horseshoe Crab
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A dance of death
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Archaeopteryx the Berlin Specimen
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Archaeopteryx

• Originally thought to be a typical dinosaur
• Recognition of feathers
• First bird?
• Could it fly?
• Probably not a true bird
• Newer finds in China are much more directly
  linked to birds

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Terminal Cretaceous Extinction The K-T Boundary

• Mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous
• Estimates vary from 15-40 of species
• Marine organisms discussed previously
• Dinosaurs (but you knew that)
• Many non-dinosaur reptiles
• Many amphibians
• Many mammals
• Plants???? Requires further study
• What was the cause?