Earth and Life Global Biodiversity, Extinction Intervals and Biogeog
This volume focuses on the broad pattern of increasing biodiversity through time, and recurrent events of minor and major ecosphere reorganization. Intense scrutiny is devoted to the pattern of physical (including isotopic), sedimentary and biotic circums
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Abstract
The Messel Pit, between Frankfurt and Darmstadt, is the richest site in the world for understanding the living environment of the Eocene (about 50 million years ago). It provides unique information about the early stages of the evolution of mammals, and details of exceptionally well-preserved fossils from fully articulated skeletons to hair, feathers, wing membranes, and stomach contents. Many different species of plants and animals are found including crocodiles, bats, birds, reptiles, fish, turtles, insects, and even a herd of primitive horses. This paper traces the story of how the Messel “treasure chest for palaeontology” has been secured as a research resource for scientists, how it has become recognised as a heritage site, and how it is being developed as an educational and recreational facility for the general public. Keywords
Germany • Eocene • UNESCO World Heritage site • Catastrophic setting (maar) • Lacustrine sedimentation • Oil shale • Sub-tropical/tropical • Exceptional preservation (skeletons to stomach contents) • Mammals to reptiles • Birds • Insects • Plants • Biogeographic linkages
Introduction Fifty million years ago, during the Eocene, Europe was an archipelago. Although moving northwards with the drifting continental plates, Europe was still located much farther south than it is today. It was even separated from Asia for a long time during the Early Tertiary by oceans: the Tethys Sea in the south, the Atlantic Ocean in the west, and the
North Sea. The Turgai Strait north-east of Europe connected the Antarctic Ocean to the Tethys Sea. The palaeoclimate was fairly uniform throughout the world and was conducive to the development of a paratropical rain forest on the European archipelago. In contrast to tropical regions today, this paratropical climate experienced seasons because of its higher latitude.
The Construction of the Chest S. Schaal () Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany e-mail: [email protected]
During the early Eocene at a latitude of 38◦ N (the present latitude of southern Spain and Sicily), a natural catastrophe took place when the area around Messel
J.A. Talent (ed.), Earth and Life, International Year of Planet Earth, DOI 10.1007/978-90-481-3428-1_9, © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012
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experienced extensive tectonic activity. Numerous water-vapour explosions occurred several hundred metres below the surface. When groundwater came into contact with molten rock at about 1200◦ C, a volcanic crater (known as a “maar” crater) was created on the surface. A mixture of rock debris and volcanic ash formed a ring wall around the crater. The crater was 300 m deep, with a diameter of more than 1 km, and as groundwater and rainwater accumulated in it (Schulz et al. 2002; Felder and Harms 2004), the new freshwater maar lake developed. At least 50 million years ago sedimentation began after this volcanic explosion (Mertz and Reene 2005). During a period of about one million years, lake sediments
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