The biodiversity of the Eocene Messel Pit

The Messel Pit, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Germany, is renowned for its exceptional fossil diversity spanning microfossils, plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates from the Eocene era. A recent study updates the taxonomic inventory of Messel, identifying 1409 taxa, while critiquing previous work for inaccuracies. Using modern biodiversity-theoretic techniques, researchers estimated that current sampling efforts have only scratched the surface, with aquatic and volant vertebrates being more comprehensively documented than terrestrial ones. The study also projects that maintaining current excavation rates would require significantly more effort to achieve complete species richness sampling. Contrary to earlier assumptions, the Messel ecosystem was not a tropical rainforest but rather a paratropical forest with biodiversity levels higher than present-day Central Europe but lower than Neotropical regions.

Smith, K. T., Collinson, M., Folie, A., Habersetzer, J., Hennicke, F., Kothe, E., Lehmann, T., Lenz, O. K., Mayr, G., Micklich, N., Rabenstein, R., Racicot, R., Schaal, S. F. K., Smith, T., Tosal, A., Uhl, D., Wappler, T., Wedmann, S., & Wuttke, M. (2024). The biodiversity of the Eocene Messel Pit. Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments, 104(4), 859–940. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12549-024-00633-2