A SNAPSHOT IN TIME Aspidorynchus and Rhamphorinchus Place of discovery: Germany, Eichstätt, Solnhofen Upper Jurassic period (around 145 million years) Aspidorhynchus: 63 x 8 cm (skull 13.5 cm) Rhamphorhynchus: 42 x 12 cm (skull 10 cm) Frame: 82.5 x 85 x 6 cm Provenance: Swiss private collection Certficates: - Comes with a letter of authenticity from the internationally recognised expert in palaeontology, Jakob Siber (head of the Swiss Dinosaur Museum in Aathal). - Comes with a Certificate from Dr. H.c. Helmut Tischlinger who was involved in many of the fossils found in Solnhofen. A fantastic display of two magnificent creatures from a time very long ago. Unsuspectingly, the impressive flying reptile flew over the sea, when without any warning, a huge primordial fish emerged from the dark waters and grabbed the reptile by the wing. Embraced in a desperate struggle for life and death, the two animals plunged back into the still waters. They quickly sank deeper and deeper until they finally hit the bottom of the lake. Here the life span of these two fascinating creatures ended, but at the same time a 145 million-year-long journey began. What we present to you today is a rock slab with a Polaroid from the distant past. Perfectly preserved lie the two magnificent creatures before us and remind us of the everlasting struggle between life and death. Overall assessment (From the Certificate from Dr. H.c. Helmut Tischlinger): "The combination of Rhamphorhynchus and Aspidorhynchus described here is one of the most important finds from the Solnhofener Plattenkalk and is of great importance because of its taphonomic, palaeobiological and museum significance, it occupies an outstanding position among the fossil finds from Solnhofen known so far. Both the constellation of finds as well as the excellent preparation, fossil preservation and optical presence of this *drama from the Jurassic period* make this fossil plate an extremely unusual and highly valuable exhibit." Preparation assessment and fossil preservation: "The prepared fossil slab and an extensive photo documentation of the preparation work were examined in detail. In addition, the original fossil was examined under ultraviolet light (365 nanometres) and documented." The result is: "...the time-consuming work of assembling and uncovering the fossil was carried out in a highly professional, meticulous and most exquisite manner. The bone substance of both the fish and the pterosaur have been excellently preserved. In the case of the Rhamphorhynchus, soft tissue preservation of flight skin remains etc. can be observed in places. The slight curvature and thickening of the right femur could be due to a fracture with callus formation." Restoration work on the fossil plate was limited to the putty joints and very few bone defects and was only carried out where it was absolutely necessary. All in all, this is an excellent preparation and two excellently preserved fossils on one plate. The two species: Aspidorhynchus is an extinct genus of ray-finned fish from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Fossils have been found in Europe and Antarctica. Aspidorhynchus was a slender, fast-swimming fish, 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) long, with tooth-lined, elongated jaws. It also had heavy scales and a symmetrical tail. The upper jaw was longer than the lower jaw, ending in a toothless spike. Although it would have looked superficially similar to the present day gars, it was not related to them, belonging to the Aspidorhynchiformes, an extinct group of fish noted for their elongated rostrums. Aspidorhynchiformes are generally considered early relatives of teleosts. Rhamphorhynchus is a genus of long-tailed pterosaurs in the Jurassic period. Less specialized than contemporary, short-tailed pterodactyloid pterosaurs such as Pterodactylus, it had a long tail, stiffened with ligaments, which ended in a characteristic soft-tissue tail vane. The mouth of Rhamphorhynchus housed needle-like teeth, which were angled forward, with a curved, sharp, beak-like tip lacking teeth, indicating a diet mainly of fish; indeed, fish and cephalopod remains are frequently found in Rhamphorhynchus abdominal contents, as well as in their coprolites.