Eduard Opitsch was a German quarry owner whose name is associated to a specimen of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx , sometimes referred to by its German name Urvogel , is a genus of theropod dinosaur that is closely related to birds. The name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning "ancient", and , meaning "feather" or "wing"...

, the Maxberg specimen

Maxberg specimen

The Maxberg specimen is a fossil of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx, discovered in 1956 in Germany. It takes its name from the Maxberg Museum, where it was exhibited for a number of years....

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The so-called Maxberg specimen

Maxberg specimen

The Maxberg specimen is a fossil of the prehistoric bird Archaeopteryx, discovered in 1956 in Germany. It takes its name from the Maxberg Museum, where it was exhibited for a number of years....

 of Archeopteryx lithographica has been discovered in 1956 in his quarry in Langenaltheim

Langenaltheim

Langenaltheim is a municipality in the Middle Franconian district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in Germany....

. Opitsch gave the fossil to the Maxberg Museum

Maxberg Museum

The Maxberg Museum is a German museum situated in Mörnsheim in the natural park of Altmuhtal, near Solnhofen. It was founded by Alphons L. Zehntner in 1929....

 at Solnhofen

Solnhofen

Solnhofen is a municipality in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Franconia in the Land of Bavaria in Germany. It lies within the Altmühl valley....

. In 1974 he reintegrated the fossil into his private collection. When Opitsch died in 1991, it was found that the Archaeopteryx specimen was missing from his collection. The whereabouts of the fossil are unknown, but several photographs and a cast of it exist. Locals from Solnhofen believe that Opitsch buried it to keep it from his heirs.