In the Jurassic this area had some similarities in habitat to the Solnhofen lagoon deposits in Bavaria, Germany.
The quarrying of this lithographic limestone subsequently yielded spectacular finds, including Archaeopteryx, commemorated in the bird's full name Archaeopteryx lithographica.
Discovered in the 1960s near Eichstätt, Germany and described in 1988 by Wellnhofer (as a specimen of Archaeopteryx) it is currently located at the Bürgermeister-Müller-Museum in Solnhofen.
cristatus is based on specimen BSP 1892.IV.1, from the Solnhofen limestone of Eichstätt, Germany.
Fragments of Gnathosaurus jaw were first discovered in 1832 in the Solnhofen limestones of southern Germany but were mistaken for a piece of teleosaurid crocodile jaw, hence the synonym Crocodylus multidens.