The Altmuhl Valley
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| The Altmühl area during the Jurassic |
We went the "pretty way", up the valley, rather than the direct road as this gave us a view of the late Jurassic (Oxfordian) reefs on the valley sides, built up by sponges and cyanobacteria.
These reefs divided the Solnhofen lagoon into subcircular basins in which carbonate mud was deposited, forming the
plattenkalks which are so good for lithography and also for preserving fossils in fine detail.
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| Crags on the far side of the valley |
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| Driving up the Altmühl valley |
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| Fossil sponge |
The biohermal - reef - limestone forms crags along the valley but it isn't easy to find a place for four vehicles to stop safely.
We managed it eventually and started looking for, and finding, fossil material, particularly enlightening for those of us who were unfamiliar with its nature!
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| John pointing out reef material in the bioherm crags |
Burgermeister Muller Museum, Solnhofen
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| By a river bridge as we approached Solnhofen |
A clue that we are in Archaeopteryx-Land is the sculpture of a very large ammonite, which appears to have swallowed an ammonite!
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| Dr John Nudds and Herr Dr Martin Röper |
On arrival we were greeted by Dr Martin Röper who showed us some of the particularly noteworthy exhibits.
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One of our group, Gill Toney, outside the museum
with Dr John Nudds |
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| Archaeopteryx #7 - the Munich specimen |
The Munich Archaeopteryx bavarica #7 is now thought to be a juvenile of A. lithographica. It is on loan here from the Bavarian State Collection which we saw in Munich yesterday.
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| Archaeopteryx #6 Solnhofen specimen |
Archaeopteryx #6, known as the Solnhofen specimen and found in 1988, is the largest known specimen but said to have been poorly prepared.
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For comparison, here's a Pterodactyl
from Solnhofen Plattenkalk |
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| #9, the "Chicken Wing" |
#9 which was found in 2004, is a partial wing with faint feather impressions and fondly known as the Chicken Wing!
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A captivating hologram of a
fully feathered Archaeopteryx |
We spent ages watching, and videoing, an amazing animated hologram of a fully feathered Archaeopteryx.
There were plenty of other lovely specimens in the museum as well, including this marine sponge, very similar to what we had seen in the reef mounds on the way to Solnhofen.
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| Marine sponge, Ammonella quadrata, from the western Eichstatt archipelago |
The decapod is interesting - one of our group found a similar one but from a younger rock formation, later in the week.
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| A crab-like decapod Eryon from Langenaltheim |
Other delights included fish, insects, plants, and medusas
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| A small "sprat-like" bony fish |
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| Death assemblage of small sprat-like fish. Possibly they swam into anoxic water? |
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| Echinoid |
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| Retail therapy |
After a bit of retail therapy across the road from the museum we drove to the nearby Alte Schule Biergarten where Martin had booked lunch for our group and it was a great recommendation! Lovely food, trouble free organisation, and a delightful venue.
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| Lunch at the Alte Schule |
Diversion to a Friedhof
We drove to Langenaltheim where Eduard Opitsch is buried and, possibly,
Archaeopteryx #3 with him as it has never been seen since his death in 1991!
We went on to the Haardt Quarry for collecting - something I don't find easy now - all that bending - but I did find a fish fossil, one of the little sprats (
Leptolepides) which I'm going to have a go at cleaning up. "Prima!" said Martin when I showed him !
The quarry, like others in the area, is set up for amateur collectors with specimens for sale, hammers for hire, and brooms, wheelbarrows and shovels for clearing away debris!
One of the group, Terry, found a lovely decapod crustacean
Eryops which he left with Martin as it was too large to take home!
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| Terry's crustacean |
The quarry, like others in the area, is set up for amateur collectors with specimens for sale, hammers for hire, and brooms, wheelbarrows and shovels for clearing away debris!
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