The Messel Pit is a fossil preservation site in Hesse, central Germany, dated to the Eocene epoch. The fossil-bearing rock unit is a geologic formation named the Messel Formation; its geographic range
Weathered bituminous shale of the Messel Formation
Grube Messel, Weltnaturerbe panoramio
Outcrop of the Messel oil shale near the center of the pit
A fossil of the primitive mammal Kopidodon, showing outline of fur
Kopidodon is an extinct genus of placental mammals from subfamily Paroxyclaeninae within family Paroxyclaenidae, that lived during the middle Eocene in Germany.
Messel Pit
…incredible diversity of life. The Messel lake bed was probably a center point for drainage from nearby rivers and creeks. A fossil of the primitive mammal Kopidodon, showing outline of fur The pit deposits were formed during the Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period about 47 million years ago, based on dating of…
Kopidodon macrognathus National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo DSC07781