Messel: MP 11, Germany

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
unclassified
Pholidocerus hassiacus
Franzen 1985
Dombeyopsis sp. Unger 1850
nomen nudum belonging to Plantae
Angiospermae - Rosales - Rosaceae
? Prunus sp. Linnaeus 1753
Mammalia - Pseudorhyncocyonidae
Leptictidium nasutum n. sp. Storch and Lister 1985
Hooker 2013
Leptictidium auderiense n. gen., n. sp. Tobien 1962
Hooker 2013
Leptictidium tobieni n. sp. Koenigswald and Storch 1987
Hooker 2013
Mammalia - Rodentia - Ischyromyidae
Plesiarctomys sp. Bravard 1848
Harrassowitz 1922
Mammalia - Primates
Darwinius masillae n. gen., n. sp. Franzen et al. 2009
Franzen et al. 2009 1 individual
Mammalia - Chiroptera - Emballonuridae
Tachypteron franzeni n. gen., n. sp. Storch et al. 2002
Storch et al. 2002
type in IRSNB collection
Mammalia - Chiroptera - Archaeonycteridae
Palaeochiropteryx tupaiodon Revilliod 1917
Franzen 1985
Archaeonycteris trigonodon
Franzen 1985
Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Palaeotheriidae
Propalaeotherium sp. Gervais
Franzen 1985
Mammalia - Didelphimorphia - Didelphidae
Didelphidae indet. Gray 1821
von Koenigswald 1982
probably Peratherium or Amphiperatherium
Reptilia - Testudines
Ocadia messeliana Staesche 1928
Hervet 2004 1 specimen
recombined as Francellia messeliana
IRSNB-121
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Testudo sp. Linnaeus 1758
originally entered as "Testudo indet."
    = Testudinidae indet. Batsch 1788
Alroy 2007
? Juvemys sp. Hervet 2003
Hervet 2004
BMNH R 10869
Reptilia - Testudines
Ocadia kehreri Staesche 1928
Hervet 2004
recombined as Euroemys kehreri
coll. IRSNB : 117 (Pl. 3, Fig. F), 289 (Pl. 3, Fig. C), 1-535, 26802 ; MNSD 580/77B18 (Groessens Van Dyck, 1978 : Fig. 2)
Borkenia aff. oschkinisi Schleich 1994
Hervet 2004
SMNS 54849, IRSBN IG28502
Anosteira gracilis n. sp. Harrassowitz 1922
Harrassowitz 1922
synonym of Allaeochelys crassesculpta
Reptilia - Testudines - Trionychidae
    = Trionychidae indet. Gray 1825
Alroy 2007
    = Palaeoamyda messeliana n. gen., n. sp. Reinach 1900
Cadena 2016
recombined as Rafetoides messelianus
Reptilia - Anguidae
Placosauriops weigelti Kuhn 1940
Augé 2005
some more or less complete skeletons
Reptilia
Crocodilus ebertsi
original and current combination Crocodylus
Alligator darwini Ludwig 1877
Baryphracta deponiae Frey et al. 1987
Frey et al. 1987 2 specimens
recombined as Diplocynodon deponiae
IRSNB R 261 (near complete skeleton); IRSNB R 262 (IG 26467; exposing the ventral side)
Reptilia - Psittacopedidae
Eofringillirostrum parvulum n. sp. Ksepka et al. 2019
Ksepka et al. 2019
Reptilia - Psittaciformes - Halcyornithidae
Pseudasturidae indet. Mayr 1998
Mayr 1998
synonym of Halcyornithidae
Reptilia - Psittaciformes - Messelasturidae
Messelastur gratulator n. gen., n. sp. Peters 1994
Peters 1994
type from "L13 (Grabungsstelle 32), 26-43 cm unter Leithorizont M"; referred specimen of Mayr 2011 is in the SMF
Reptilia - Coraciiformes
Eocoracias brachyptera Mayr and Mourer-Chauviré 2000
Mayr and Mourer-Chauviré 2000
referred specimens in the SMF and HLMD collections
Reptilia - Zygodactylidae
Primozygodactylus quintus n. sp.
Mayr 2017
Primozygodactylus longibrachium n. sp.
Mayr 2017
Primozygodactylus eunjooae
Mayr 2017
Primozygodactylus cf. danielsi Mayr 1998
Mayr 2017
? Pseudastur sp. Mayr 1998
Mayr 1998
Pseudastur macrocephalus n. gen., n. sp. Mayr 1998
Mayr 1998
Reptilia - Strigiformes - Strigidae
Strigogyps sapea
Mayr 2016
Reptilia - Gruiformes - Idiornithidae
Dynamopterus tuberculatus (Peters 1995)
Mayr 2016
Reptilia - Cariamiformes - Cariamidae
Dynamopterus cf. itardiensis (Mourer-Chauvire 1983)
Mayr 2016
original and current combination Idiornis itardiensis
Reptilia - Suliformes - Sulidae
Masillastega rectirostris n. gen., n. sp. Mayr 2002
Mayr 2002
IPB 140a+b
Reptilia - Pelecaniformes - Threskiornithidae
Rhynchaeites messelensis n. gen., n. sp. Wittich 1898
Reptilia - Lithornithidae
Lithornithidae indet. Houde 1988
Mayr 2008
from "Messel": SGPIMH specimen
Actinopteri - Lepisosteiformes - Lepisosteidae
Lepisosteus strausi
Actinopteri - Amiiformes - Amiidae
Amia kehreri Andreae 1893
recombined as Cyclurus kehreri
unclassified
Paraprefica major n. sp. Mayr 1999
Mayr 1999 1 specimen
see common names

Geography
Country:Germany State/province:Hessen
Coordinates: 49.9° North, 8.7° East (view map)
Paleocoordinates:46.9° North, 4.8° East
Time
Period:Paleogene Epoch:Eocene
Stage:Lutetian 10 m.y. bin:Cenozoic 2
*Period:Tertiary - Tertiary *Epoch:Eocene - Eocene
Key time interval:MP 11
Age range of interval:48.60000 - 40.40000 m.y. ago
* legacy (obsolete) database fields
Stratigraphy
Formation:Messel
Stratigraphy comments: ETE dating method: time_unit, ETE age comment: 0.
Lower Middle-Eocene, Lutetian
JA: MP 11
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology: "shale"
Lithology description: ETE rock type adj: 0, ETE lithology comments: .
Environment:lacustrine indet.
Geology comments: ETE sed env 1: lacustrine, ETE sed env 2: . ETE event: flood, ETE env comment: drowning
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body,adpression
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Articulated whole bodies:many
Associated major elements:many
Collection methods and comments
Collection size:1000 specimens
Reason for describing collection:taxonomic analysis
Collection method comments: ETE Size: .; ETE reference list: 666, 664, 645, 493, 638, 983, ; ETE museum list:
Metadata
Also known as:ETE Locality 1576, Messel,
Database number:22701
Authorizer:A. Behrensmeyer, P. Holroyd, M. Uhen, L. van den Hoek Ostende, E. Fara, D. Nicholson, J. Alroy, P. Mannion, P. Barrett Enterer:A. Behrensmeyer, P. Mannion, T. Cleary, L. van den Hoek Ostende, E. Fara, M. Uhen, P. Holroyd, J. Alroy, D. Nicholson, S. Kuemmell
Modifier:M. Carrano Research group:vertebrate
Collections that are a subset of this one:58140
Created:2001-05-29 01:00:00 Last modified:2022-10-05 10:52:14
Access level:the public Released:2001-05-29 01:00:00
Creative Commons license:CC BY
Reference information

Primary reference:

10646. E. Wittich. 1898. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Messeler Braunkohle und ihrer Fauna. Abhandlungen der großherzoglich Hessischen geologischen Landesanstalt zu Darmstadt 3(3):79-147 [J. Alroy/S. Kuemmell/S. Kuemmell]

Secondary references:

19636 J. Alroy. 2007. Synonymies and reidentifications of North American fossil vertebrates and so forth. [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
59290 M. L. Augé. 2005. Evolution des lézards du Paléogène en Europe. Mémoires du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle 192:1-369 [P. Barrett/T. Cleary/T. Cleary]
5671ETE 1427J. L. Franzen. 1985. Exceptional preservation of Eocene vertebrates in the lake deposits of Grube Messel (West Germany). Philosophical Transactions of the the Royal Society, London, B 311:181-186 [A. Behrensmeyer/A. Behrensmeyer/M. Kosnik]
29986 J. L. Franzen, P. D. Gingerich, J. Habersetzer, J. H. Hurum, W. Koenigswald and B. H. Smith. 2009. Complete primate skeleton from the Middle Eocene of Messel in Germany: Morphology and Paleobiology. PloSone 4(5):1-27 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
47631 E. Frey, A. Laemmert, and J. Riess. 1987. Baryphracta deponiae n. g. n. sp. (Reptilia, Crocodylia), ein neues Krokodil aus der Grube Messel bey Darmstadt (Hessen, Bundesrepublik Deutschland). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatschefte 1987:15-26 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
60520 H. Harrassowitz. 1922. Die Schildkrötengattung Anosteira von Messel bei Darmstadt und ihre stammesgeschichtliche Bedeutung. Abhandlungen der Hessischen Geologischen Landesanstalt 6:132-239 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
58591 S. Hervet. 2004. Systématique du groupe "Palaeochelys sensu lato – Mauremys" (Chelonii, Testudinoidea) du Tertiaire d'Europe occidentale: principaux résultats [Systematic of the "Palaeochelys sensu lato – Mauremys" group (Chelonii, Testudinoidea) from the Tertiary of Western Europe: principal results. Annales de Paléontologie 90(1):13-78 [D. Nicholson/D. Nicholson/D. Nicholson]
56880 J. J. Hooker. 2013. Origin and evolution of the Pseudorhyncocyonidae, a European Paleogene family of insectivorous placental mammals. Palaeontology 56(4):807-835 [P. Mannion/P. Mannion]
68490 D. T. Ksepka, L. Grande, and G. Mayr. 2019. Oldest Finch-Beaked Birds Reveal Parallel Ecological Radiations in the Earliest Evolution of Passerines. Current Biology 29:657-663 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
74716 G. Mayr. 1998. A new family of Eocene zygodactyl birds. Senckenbergiana lethaea 78(1/2):199-209 [M. Uhen/M. Uhen]
198165% 53280G. Mayr. 1999. Caprimulgiform birds from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Hessen, Germany). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(3):521-532 [E. Fara/E. Fara/E. Fara]
193915% 57400G. Mayr. 2002. A skull of a new pelecaniform bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Germany. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 47(3):507-512 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
28308 G. Mayr. 2008. First substantial Middle Eocene record of the Lithornithidae (Aves): A postcranial skeleton from Messel (Germany). Annales de Paléontologie 94(1):29-37 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
65053 G. Mayr. 2016. Avian feet, crocodilian food and the diversity of larger birds in the early Eocene of Messel. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments 96(4):601-609 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
62734 G. Mayr. 2017. New species of Primozygodactylus from Messel and the ecomorphology and evolutionary significance of early Eocene zygodactylid birds (Aves, Zygodactylidae). Historical Biology 29(7):875-884 [P. Holroyd/P. Holroyd]
28401 G. Mayr and C. Mourer-Chauviré. 2000. Rollers (Aves: Coraciiformes s.s.) from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Germany) and the Upper Eocene of the Quercy (France). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20(3):533-546 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
28683 D. S. Peters. 1994. Messelastur gratulator n. gen. n. spec., ein Greifvogel as der Grube Messel (Aves: Accipitridae). Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg 170:3-9 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]
25533 G. Storch, B. Sigé, and J. Habersetzer. 2002. Tachypteron franzeni n. gen., n. sp., earliest emballonurid bat from the Middle Eocene of Messel (Mammalia, Chiroptera). Palaeontologische Zeitschrift 76(2):189-199 [L. van den Hoek Ostende/L. van den Hoek Ostende]
141145% 27620W. von Koenigswald. 1982. Die erste Beutelratte aus dem mitteleozänen Ölschiefer von Messel bei Darmstadt; (The first opossum in the middle Eocene black shales of Messel near Darmstadt). Natur und Museum, Frankfurt 112(2):41-48 [J. Alroy/S. Kuemmell/S. Kuemmell]