Bundenbach Fossils

The fossils from Bundenbach Germany are absolutely incredible!  The preservation rivals those that are found in the Burgess Shale of Canada.  The Hunsruck Slate is the best-known of Devonian lagerstätten (Lagerstätten are deposits that exhibit extraordinary fossil richness and completeness. The word literally translates as "lode places."); it outcrops in the Rhenish Massif, Western Germany, and contains a diverse marine fauna.  The soft tissues in this lagerstätten have become preserved through replacement by the mineral pyrite. This mineral replacement occurred before decay processes destroyed the soft tissues and all the valuable palaeontological information that they have subsequently provided. Pyritization of soft tissue is EXTREMELY RARE in the fossil record, but does occur in this shale.  These particular fossils are found on Hunsruck Slate that used to be used for Roofing Material in Germany.  When the quarry workers would come across the fossils, they would set them aside and sell them to collectors.  The quarry where the Budenbach Fossils used to be found has been CLOSED and can no longer be entered.  Therefore, the supply of these fossils is STRICTLY LIMITED to those pieces that have already been quarried.  

Last Modified 04/03/2008

Bundenbach Fossils