FOSSIL GRASSHOPPER PLAQUE, PYCNOPHLEBIA ROBUSTA,Jurassic, Tithonian stage Solnhofen Formation, Eichsätt, Bavaria, Germany. This ancestor to today's grasshoppers is preserved in Solnhofen limestone by a lithographic process, the outline of the insect chemically transferred to the stone over millions of years due to the anoxic conditions of the thick oxygen-free mud silt that remained when the lagoons of the area dried out towards the end of the Jurassic period. This is a good, large example with well-defined outlines and long delicate antennae. It measures 4 3/4 inches long. - 8 3/4" high x 11 1/2" wide overall. Estimate $400-600
