Mesozoic era 251-65.5million years ago

Recently found on a trip together with my kids. The “Jura” region in the North Western Part of Switzerland is famous for fossil discoveries. Recently thousands of Dinosaur traces were found during the construction of a new highway.

Next to the dinosaur traces hundreds of different fossils were found. From Mamout bones to turtles, shells and many more.

We found this fossil shells close to a construction site for the new highway. The fossils are not treated in any way, just dirt was removed by washing them with water.

Here some more information about the discoveries in recent years:

Since February 2000, the Palaeontology A16-highway excavates fossiliferous beds of Middle Oxfordian to Late Kimmeridgian age along the future course of the Transjurane highway of the Canton Jura. This Late Jurassic sequence corresponds to coastal deposits of a shallow carbonate platform, at the threshold between the boreal and the tethyan realms.

To date, excavation activities have yielded numerous (more than 30’000 objects) and diverse fossils, including remains of marine, littoral and terrestrial organisms (plants, invertebrates and vertebrates). Invertebrates include ammonites, which give a precise biostratigraphic frame, and vertebrates include over 4200 dinosaur footprints, which testify at least three periods of large-scale emersion of the carbonate platform. 

150 Mio. Year old turtle shell fragments