Formation · Devonian
Bundenbach (Hunsrück Slate)
Early Devonian unit, Rhineland-Palatinate
The Hunsrück Slate around Bundenbach is the Early Devonian Lagerstätte in which starfish, brittle stars, crinoids, trilobites (Chotecops) and arthropods such as Mimetaster are preserved as golden pyrite on black slate. Specimens are prepared by sandblasting and are famously beautiful, but pyrite decay is a real risk: keep them dry, below about 45 per cent humidity, and ask whether a piece has been treated. Enhancement with paint or added pyrite is not unknown on commercial starfish.
| Country | Germany |
|---|---|
| Region | Rhineland-Palatinate |
| Age | Emsian, Early Devonian |
| Age range | ~408–400 Ma |
| PBDB collections | 10 collections, 294 occurrences· Paleobiology Database |
Collecting and legality
The roofing-slate quarries closed in the 1990s and the remaining ones are private; new material is very limited and much of the trade is older collection stock. Germany does not restrict export, but the finest pyritised specimens are museum pieces.
Lithology and setting
Dark grey roofing slate from muddy Devonian shelf deposits, with animals replaced by pyrite so that X-rays reveal soft parts.
Commonly recorded taxa (PBDB)
Genera most often recorded from this unit in the Paleobiology Database (first 200 occurrences): Parisangulocrinus (6), Retusotriletes (6), Emphanisporites (5), Hapalocrinus (5), Palasterina (5), Acanthocrinus (4), Bathericrinus (4), Conularia (4), Leiotriletes (4), Thallocrinus (4), Triacrinus (4), Bactrocrinites (3), Baliactis (3), Eutaxocrinus (3), Follicrinus (3).
Source: Paleobiology Database
Elsewhere
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Bundenbach (Hunsrück Slate)" (Formation). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/formations/bundenbach-hunsruck-slate. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-bundenbach-hunsruck-slate,
title = {Bundenbach (Hunsrück Slate)},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/formations/bundenbach-hunsruck-slate}},
year = {2026},
note = {Formation article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, commons. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.