The excavation campaigns undertaken in the last two years on the southern slopes of the Grigna Settentrionale (known locally as the Grignone), within the Buchenstein Formation, brought to light new finds of great importance regarding the vertebrate fauna of the lower Ladinico.

The outcrop is formed by an alternation of limestone and slightly marled limestone, sometimes laminated, some with flint insertions, circa two metres thick in total. Many of the specimens were seen in section: this generally precluded attempts to immediately identify the genus. Circa 25 m2 of rock were examined and during a total of circa 50 days of excavation over two years, over 6000 finds came to light, mostly fish. A number of surfaces were formed by the mass mortality of fish, generally all of the same species, which augmented the number of examples. However, they were not sufficiently well preserved for an accurate anatomical description to be made. Among the materials the most numerous groups were those of the Perleidiforms (such as Ctenognatichthys and the new genus Stoppania), those of the Peltopleuriforms (such as Peltopleurus and Habroichthys), as well as some types of Neopterigi (Placopleurus, Furo) and Condrostei (Saurichthys).

In this preliminary phase two species were of particular interest from a taxonomic point of view. The first was a very large example of Saurichthys (circa 135 cm long, the largest of this type found in the Ladinico) with rather particular characteristics in the trunk area and in a good state of preservation (except the cranium). The second was a new type of high-bodied perleidiform, Stoppania, named after the famous naturalist Antonio Stoppani who was the first to study the Grigne fossils. This was also a very large example (circa 25 cm long). Also present were a small example attributable to the Furo genus and another Neotterigio which had a number of characteristics in common with the Folidoforiforms.

Of interest among the few invertebrates were several Tilacocefalus crustaceans, concentrated in a single layer in which fish were absent. Clear evidence for the presence of Decapods was identified on the same surface, although the alteration of the latter rendered observation difficult.

The preliminary analysis of the distribution of the examples highlighted the concentration of the finds in several groups of levels (for example those from n. 32 to n. 36) and showed the numerical relationship of the various types (with the high number of Saurichthys: this data may however be invalidated by the ease with which this genus can be identified in comparison with other types).