The amazing fossils of Messel

We went to a talk by paleontonlogist Graham Beard last weekend. He talked and showed us lots of slides about the fossils people are digging up at a place called Messel, in Germany. It is a World Heritage site. We were really interested in the bugs, opposums, bats, turtles, crocodilians, and cute little mammals that they are finding. We also liked being able to touch the fossils and animal skeletons that he brought.

The book about Messel is called, Messel: The Pompeii of Paleontology. (We think, we will correct this if we are wrong.) You might be able to find it at your local library.

Here are some sites where you can learn more about these amazing fossils. Some of them are in German, but the pictures are great.

A site that tells you a bit about the fossils and the site. (Some of the links on this page don't work.)

The Fossil Museum site is really neat and has a page on Messel.

Site of the Messel research team.

An article from Science Daily about the possible causes of the mass deaths at Messel.