Field Trip to the Eocene

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Field Trip to the Eocene!
Messel Oil Shale Fossil Site -
http//www.fossilmuseum.net/Fossil_Sites/Messel/Me
ssel20Lagerstatt.htm
Left Environment today buried in shale are the
remains of a tropical ecosystem.
Messel
Right A tree dwelling rodents skeleton covered
by a halo of fur.
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Field Trip Messel, Germany
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Field Trip
Messel - http//palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/
Lagerstatten/Messel/
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A German Eden
A tropical paradise in Germany? Below
crocodiles are sometimes found with their bellies
full, including half eaten monkeys.
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The German Rainforest
Left The leaves, flowers, pollen, and fruit are
all beautifully preserved in the Messel Oil
Shale. Above A map showing the distribution of
palms today, lending evidence to the view that
Germany 49 million years ago was tropical.
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This frog is so well preserved that even its
eyeballs are still visible.
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Left The severed hand of a monkey with a
characteristic opposable thumb. Sometimes
remains of these primates are found in Messel
half eaten, the leftovers of a crocodiles meal.
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Featured Organism Propalaeotherium parvulum
Magnified 210x
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Featured Organism Propalaeotherium parvulum
Transitional Forms - http//evolution.berkeley.edu
/evosite/lines/IAtransitional2.shtml
Propalaeotherium - http//www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wil
dfacts/factfiles/434.shtml
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Artists Reconstruction of an Eocene Environment
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PaleoMap