Baby fossil shrimp

Dating back to the Jurassic Period, approximately 150 million years ago, the Solnhofen Formation was a series of shallow, tropical lagoons with hypersaline and oxygen-poor waters. This unique environment acted as a natural trap, preventing decay and allowing for the preservation of incredibly delicate organisms. The fine-grained limestone, historically quarried for use in lithography, has preserved the most minute details of fossils, from the slender antennae of shrimp to the delicate feathers of the famous Archaeopteryx.