Highlights of the Messel Oil Shale

The Messel oil shale, Germany, was deposited in a maar crater that formed 47 million years ago. Since 1975 the Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt am Main, has conducted systematic scientific excavations of this oil shale with much success. Besides plants and insects, more than 130 species of well-preserved fossil vertebrates like reptiles, fishes, birds and mammals have been found and have made Messel world-famous. Some examples of these vertebrates are presented.