Fossil food chain from the messel pit examined
Wednesday, September 7, 2016 - 08:31
in Paleontology & Archaeology
In cooperation with CONICET in Argentina, Senckenberg scientists examined a spectacular discovery from the UNESCO World Heritage site Messel Pit: A fossil snake in whose stomach a lizard can be seen, which in turn had consumed a beetle. The discovery of the approximately 48-million-year-old tripartite fossil food chain is unique for Messel; worldwide, only one single comparable piece exists. The study was recently published in Senckenberg's scientific journal "Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments."