Eryma punctatum

Description

Eryma punctatum is a crustacean that somewhat represents a todays crayfish. The fossil here comes from the Moernsheim Formation at the Muehlheim Quarry. The Moernsheim Formation, Muehlheim Subformation (Malm zeta 3) is directly on top of the Altmuehltal Formation, Eichstett Subformation (Malm zeta 1/2). Therefore it is up to 2 million years younger.

The Moernsheim Formation represents the end of the Solnhofen Lagune, that produced so many well preserved Jurassic Fossils. The fossil species in the Moernsheim Formation are somewhat the same as in the Eichstett Formation. Many of them continue. Some are new. And some have changed in evolutionary terms in those 2 million years since the beginning of the Solnhofen Lagune. The here presented Eryma is probably such evolutionary changling. It represents somewhat the older Eryma modestiforme  as well as Eryma punctatum. Maybe it is a new species.

First overlooked the Moernsheim Formation is heavily studied in the last 14 years. The stone was not as usable as the lower Eichstett Formation. They are both “Plattenkalk, but one is more a limestone, the other (Moernsheim) is silicated.

The opening of the now famous Muehlheim quarry near Solnhofen as a U-Dig quarry and the work of the enthusiastic owner and fossil collector Roland Poeschl changed that. Many new species where discovered at the Muehlheim quarry. Many of them don’t have names. The just recently (2017) discovered Alkmonavis poeschli represents probably the first real flying Dinosaur. 2 million years younger than the related glider Archaeopterix, it had the muscles to actually take off.

Still, there are more surprises waiting to be discovered.

The fossil Eryma punctatus here is 3 inches or 7.6 cm, the slab is 4.5 by 3.75 iches or 11.5 by 10 cm.

For more information you can go to or click here :  https://www.solnhofen-fossilienatlas.de and write the german name for crustaceans = “Krebse” under Suche. If you want a english translation it would be better to google Solnhofen Fossilienatls and choose “translate this page” in Google already.

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Additional information