Solnhofen Limestone

Altmühltal Formation
Stratigraphic range: Tithonian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓ [1][2]
Outcrop of the Solnhofen Limestone
Type	Geological formation
Underlies	Mörnsheim Formation[1]
Overlies	Rögling Formation[1]
Lithology
Primary	Lithographic limestone[1]
Location
Coordinates	48°54′00″N 11°00′00″E / 48.9000°N 11.0000°E / 48.9000; 11.0000
Approximate paleocoordinates	40°06′N 19°12′E / 40.1°N 19.2°E / 40.1; 19.2
Region	Bavaria
Country	Germany
Type section
Named for	Solnhofen
Solnhofen Limestone (Germany) Show map of Germany Solnhofen Limestone (Bavaria) Show map of Bavaria

The Solnhofen Limestone or Solnhofen Plattenkalk, formally known as the Altmühltal Formation, is a Jurassic Konservat-Lagerstätte that preserves a rare assemblage of fossilized organisms, including highly detailed imprints of soft bodied organisms such as sea jellies. The most familiar fossils of the Solnhofen Plattenkalk include the early feathered theropod dinosaur Archaeopteryx preserved in such detail that they are among the most famous and most beautiful fossils in the world. The Solnhofen beds lie in the German state of Bavaria (Bayern), halfway between Nuremberg (Nürnberg) and Munich (München) and were originally quarried as a source of lithographic limestone. The Jura Museum situated in Eichstätt, Germany has an extensive exhibit of Jurassic fossils from the quarries of Solnhofen and surroundings, including marine reptiles, pterosaurs, and one specimen of the early bird Archaeopteryx.^[3]