{"id":7094,"date":"2026-02-02T13:04:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T12:04:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/?post_type=product&p=7094"},"modified":"2026-02-04T09:46:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T08:46:18","slug":"pachycormus-h0015","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/shop\/holzmaden\/pachycormus-h0015\/","title":{"rendered":"Holzmaden Pachycormus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pachycormus<\/strong>
\nMatrix: 75×32 cm
\nHolzmaden; Lias Epsilon II\/6<\/p>\n

Very aesthetic Pachycormus, embedded in a Fleins plate, excellent quality and preservation, professionally prepared at state of art, with originally preserved fins – no reconstruction, visible teeth.
\nA museum grade specimen, the best of its kind offered so far at Fossiland<\/em> with very delicate details, offered at a reasonable price – definitely a good investment, be fast!<\/p>\n

Buying this fossil the collector\/owner will bill you. Fossiland<\/em> will provide you all the safety, including 100% satisfaction guaranteed, 14-day return policy and worldwide shipping on request.<\/p>\n

sold to Yorkshire Natural History Museum<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The elegant hunter of the Jurassic Sea: Pachycormus from Holzmaden<\/strong><\/p>\n

An outstanding representative of the extinct Pachycormidae<\/a>, a group of bony fish that roamed the subtropical seas of Europe in the early Jurassic period around 180 million years ago. Especially the finds from the world-famous Posidonia slate of Holzmaden are regarded by collectors and scientists as milestones in palaeontology, as they perfectly preserve the dynamics and elegance of this primeval hunter.<\/p>\n

Biology and lifestyle<\/strong><\/p>\n

It belongs to the order Pachycormiformes<\/a>, which are often regarded as precursors or close relatives of the modern Teleostei (true bony fishes). In contrast to the rather sluggish, high-backed Dapedium<\/em>, this genus was specialized for speed and agility in open water.<\/p>\n

Its body was spindle-shaped and streamlined, making it an efficient chaser. Its name (from the Greek “pachys” for “thick” and “kormos” for “trunk”) refers to its strong physique. Characteristic are the sickle-shaped, long pectoral fins and a deeply forked caudal fin, which gave it enormous acceleration.<\/p>\n

The teeth of the fish were designed for a predatory lifestyle: Its jaws contained numerous small, pointed fangs that were ideally suited to securely grasping slippery prey such as smaller fish or belemnites<\/a> (squid relatives). Its large eyes indicate that it was a visual hunter that operated in light-flooded surface water.<\/p>\n

The special feature of the Holzmaden finds<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fossils of this genus from the shale quarries around Holzmaden are among the best-preserved fish specimens in the world. As the sea floor of the Jurassic Sea was often oxygen-free (anoxic) at that time, the filigree fin rays and often even soft tissue contours remained protected from scavengers and decomposition.<\/p>\n

These pieces often show spectacular pyritization, in which organic material has been replaced by “fool’s gold”, giving the fossil a precious, metallic sheen. While Dapedium<\/em> impresses with its massive scaly carapace, this predator fascinates with the dynamics of its shape and the fine preservation of its bone structure.<\/p>\n

This specimen is far more than a fossilization – it is the image of a highly developed hunter of its time and an aesthetic highlight for any scientifically based collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pachycormus from the Posidonia slate of Holzmaden. Complete predatory fish, toothed, in original matrix with excellent details – impressive & decorative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":7095,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[146,147,148],"product_tag":[165,167,164,185,166],"class_list":{"0":"post-7094","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-holzmaden","7":"product_cat-fishes","8":"product_cat-fossils","9":"product_tag-germany","10":"product_tag-law","11":"product_tag-lias","12":"product_tag-pachycormidae","13":"product_tag-posidonia-slate","14":"product_shipping_class-x-10kg","15":"desktop-align-left","16":"tablet-align-left","17":"mobile-align-left","19":"first","20":"outofstock","21":"sold-individually","22":"shipping-taxable","23":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/7094","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7095"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=7094"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=7094"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fossiland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=7094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}