Weathered bituminous shale of the Messel Formation
Type
Formation
Underlies
Eocene volcanic breccias
Overlies
Rotliegend
Thickness
around 200 metres (660 ft)
Location
Region
Hesse
Country
Germany
Type section
Named for
Messel
The Messel Formation is a geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene epoch (about 47 Ma[1]). Its geographic range is restricted to the Messel pit. There it unconformably overlies crystalline Variscan basement and its Permian cover (Rotliegend) as well as Eocene volcanic breccias derived from the basement rocks. The formation mainly comprises lacustrine laminated bituminous shale (‘oil shale’) renowned for its content of fossils in exceptional preservation, particularly plants, arthropods and vertebrates (e.g. Darwinius masillae).
^Jens Lorenz Franzen (2005). "The implications of the numerical dating
of the Messel fossil deposit (Eocene, Germany) for mammalian biochronology." Annales de Paléontologie. 91 (4): 329–335. doi:10.1016/j.annpal.2005.04.002
The MesselFormation is a geologic formation in Hesse, central Germany, dating back to the Eocene epoch (about 47 Ma). Its geographic range is restricted...
Eocene MesselFormation as explored by the Messel Pit excavations in Germany. A former quarry and now UNESCO World Heritage Site, the MesselFormation preserves...
mined there. Because of its abundance of well-preserved fossils of the MesselFormation dating from the middle of the Eocene, it has significant geological...
Eocene MesselFormation as explored by the Messel Pit excavations in Germany. A former quarry and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the MesselFormation preserves...
Titanomyrma gigantea queens and males are described from the MesselFormation, near the village of Messel, in the state of Hessen, 30 km (19 mi) south of Frankfurt...
the Messelformation and the Condor oil shale deposit). It has been found in sulfidic and anoxic hypersaline environments (such as the Sdom Formation)....
collected from layers of Lutetian MesselFormation rock in the Messel pit World Heritage Site. The Messelformation is composed of brown coals, oil shales...
Ephydatia E. gutenbergiana from the MesselFormation Scientific classification Domain: Eukaryota Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Porifera Class: Demospongiae...
sizes could vary from one specimen to another. Leptictidium tobieni from Messel (Germany) is the largest known leptictid with skull 101 mm (4.0 in) long...
collected from layers of Lutetian MesselFormation rock in the Messel pit World Heritage Site. The Messelformation is composed of brown coals, oil shales...
"Towards completion of the early Eocene aviary: A new bird group from the Messel oil shale (Aves, Eopachypterygidae, fam. nov.)". Zootaxa. 4013 (2): 252–264...
(Hymenoptera, Formicidae: Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Ponerinae) of Grube Messel, Germany: High biodiversity in the Eocene". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology...
collected from layers of Lutetian MesselFormation rock in the Messel pit World Heritage Site. The Messelformation is composed of brown coals, oil shales...
Sara; Chiappe, Luis M.; Mayr, Gerald (2011). "A new Messel rail from the Early Eocene Fur Formation of Denmark (Aves, Messelornithidae)". Journal of Systematic...
magna, and H. revilliodi, all found in the Messel pit, Germany, H. kumari, found in the Cambay Shale Formation (Vastan Lignite Mine), India, and the possible...
(2002). "A Skull of a New Pelecaniform Bird from the Middle Eocene of Messel, Germany" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 47 (3): 507–512. Dimitreijevich...
volcanism is the cause of the formation of a small basin, not the sedimentary filling. Of this type are the sites of Messel (Germany), with abundant and...
; Engel, M. S. (2009). "Eocene tortoise beetles from the Green River Formation in Colorado, U.S.A. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae)". Systematic...
bird known from the Early Eocene Green River Formation of the Western United States and from the Messel Pit in Germany. The genus contains two species...
of Eocene geoemydids "Ocadia" kehreri and "Ocadia" messeliana from the Messel pit (Germany) is published by Ascarrunz, Claude & Joyce (2021). Description...
collected from layers of Lutetian MesselFormation rock in the Messel pit World Heritage Site. The Messelformation is composed of brown coals, oil shales...
with Diplocynodon in 2012. Well preserved specimens have been found in the Messel Pit and the Geiseltal lignite deposit in Germany. Most articulated Diplocynodon...
of the fossil flora and fauna of the Maastrichtian-Danian Hell Creek Formation. Insects from the groups Diptera, Zygoptera, and possibly Hemiphlebiidae...
together with a short look at other fish species from the Eocene MesselFormation of Germany". Bulletin of Geosciences. 94 (3): 315–336. doi:10.3140/bull...
geological formations, ranging in age from late Oligocene to late Miocene. The oldest exposed rock layer of Malta is the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation (Maltese:...
Global Information