Dutch fossil quarry is richer than expected

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A quarry near the Dutch town of Winterswijk has long been known to be an incredible fossil site, preserving marine reptile remains from 240 million years ago. However, a new study reveals that the site is even richer than expected. Upon examining 327 remains of marine reptiles from both public museums and 20 private collections, University of Bonn student Jelle Heijne discovered that the bones were extremely well preserved, with over 20 contiguous skeletons, which are very rarely found elsewhere in the Germanic Basin. His study investigated the reasoning for why these bones were preserved so well in this location. The study found that this incredible preservation resulted from a combination of factors, including the fact that the site was a shallow sea at the time, which allowed cadavers to quickly hit the ground and be covered by sediment, and the "Stick'n'Peel" hypothesis, in which the animal is colonized by microorganisms and algae that hold the skeleton together like a skin. The study found evidence for the "Stick'n'Peel" hypothesis, as some of the skeletons lack larger bones while having complete smaller bones, even though the latter are much more likely to be carried away by water. This usually occurs when a skeleton is unevenly colonized and protected. Here is a link to the paper describing this study.

Paper (abstract only): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12542-018-0438-0