Fossils from Germany

Solnhofen, in Bavaria, is arguably the most famous German fossil site. This Late Jurassic limestone is known for its fine-grained preservation of everything from fish and crustaceans to pterosaurs and the iconic Archaeopteryx, often considered the first bird. The fossils here are typically very flat but often highly detailed.

The Hunsrück Slate, from the Devonian, is another standout site. It is well known for its pyritised fossils, particularly crinoids, trilobites, and other marine invertebrates. In some cases, soft tissues are preserved, which is exceptionally rare for this age.

Enspel, from the Miocene, preserves plants and insects in an upper Oligocene site.

The Löwenstein Formation is known for vertebrate fossils including early dinosaurs, amphibians, and reptiles. It forms part of the broader Keuper sequence in southern Germany.

Öhningen is a Miocene site known for its plant and insect fossils. Öhningen also has vertebrates, including fish and amphibians. These sites are often seen in 19th-century collections and remain of scientific interest.

The Turritellenplatte near Ermingen is a Miocene marine site famous for its dense accumulations of Turritella gastropods. It’s a good example of a fossil bed dominated by a single genus.

Mauer, near Heidelberg, is the site where the type specimen of Homo heidelbergensis was found in 1907 — a lower jaw that became central to understanding early human evolution in Europe.

The Kleine Feldhofer Grotte, in the Neander Valley, is where the original Neanderthal remains were discovered in 1856. While the cave itself no longer exists, the fossils found there were critical in establishing Neanderthals as a distinct human lineage.

Germany’s fossil heritage spans from the Cambrian to the Quaternary, with sites significant to palaeontology, palaeobotany, and human evolution alike.