During the pre-conference field trip, we visited important German Fossillagerstätten, which are also famous for exceptionally-preserved cephalopod remains. On September 4th, we went to the excellent museum at Holzmaden (Fig. 2), followed by a visit of the nearby quarry in Ohmden (Fig. 3). The same evening, we drove to Eichstätt in Bavaria, where we spent two nights in the hotel “Trompete”. On September 5th, we began with a visit of the Juramuseum in the Willibaldsburg, one of the three famous museums of the important Eichstätt–Solnhofen region. In addition to Archaeopteryx originals, this museum is also home of some spectacular cephalopod fossils. We then looked for ammonites in the quarry in Mörnsheim, where the Mörnsheimer Schichten are exposed. In the afternoon, we first went to see the Bürgermeister Müller Museum in Solnhofen, which offers exquisite fossils of the region, also including Archaeopteryx and squids with soft-body remains as well as other cephalopods. Later in the afternoon, we went to the quarry, where most of the Archaeopteryx specimens were found. Here, ammonoids with aptychi in situ also occur in great abundance. On our way back to Zürich on September 6th, we first were guided to the Werksmuseum of the Holcim cement factory at Dotternhausen, followed by a visit of the nearby Posidonia-Shale quarry. This quarry is well known for its abundant ammonites and belemnites as well as sporadic coleoid finds. The last stop was at the Nusplingen quarry, a Kimmeridgian Fossillagerstätte of growing importance, which yielded exceptionally-preserved ammonoids (with stomach contents), coleoids (with mandibles, etc.), belemnites (with ink sac, arm hooks and mandibles) as well as nautilids (also with mandibles).
The second field trip (Fig. 4) was guided by Heinz Furrer on September 11th. He brought the participants to Jurassic outcrops in the canton of Aargau. In addition to the visits of the Schümel quarry in Holderbank (Oxfordian) and the quarry in Frick (mainly Early Jurassic), they went to see the Saurier museum in Frick.
The third field trip (Fig. 5) started immediately after the last lecture on September 10th. We first drove to the Alsace (France), where we spent two nights. On September 11th, we visited a Holcim quarry in Héming, where the Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic) crops out, and is extremely rich in ceratitids and nautilids. On the 12th of September, Antoine Pictet explained us the outcrops of the fossiliferous Hauterivian and Barremian in the Veveyse-valley near Lausanne and Walter Etter led us to a small outcrop of the Alpine Toarcian Posidionia-Shale at the Teysachaux. We spent the night in Solothurn and visited the Argovian Jurassic the next day. First, we focussed on the Callovian to Oxfordian deposits in the Jura-Cement-quarry at Auenstein. Then we drove to Anwil and visited the excavation that was jointly organised by the colleagues from Bern (Ursula Menkveld-Gfeller and Bernhard Hostettler), Basel (Achim Reisdorf) and Baselland. Finally, we were guided through the fine temporary exhibit of Anwil-fossils in Oltingen by Peter Bitterli. The following night we slept on the summit of Säntis to visit the Cretaceous exposures between pillar 2 and Tierwies on the last day (September, 14th). We started off from pillar 2 in bright sunshine (guided by Peter Kürsteiner, Karl Tschanz and Antoine Pictet), with ibexes accompanying us the entire morning, and examined the section from the Schrattenkalk to the Seewer Kalk. Especially the Garschella and Seewer Kalk yielded many ammonites, nautilids and belemnites. At midday, we went to Tierwies and studied the Altmann Member, which yielded medium-sized Emericiceras and Cymatoceras. To conclude, the very international group of participants of the field trips was impressed of most of the outcrops and the museums.