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The World at the Time of Messel: Conference Volume T. Lehmann & S.F.K. Schaal (eds) The World at the Time of Messel - Conference Volume Time at the The World The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference 2011 Frankfurt am Main, 15th - 19th November 2011 ISBN 978-3-929907-86-5 Conference Volume SENCKENBERG Gesellschaft für Naturforschung THOMAS LEHMANN & STEPHAN F.K. SCHAAL (eds) The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference Frankfurt am Main, 15th – 19th November 2011 Conference Volume Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung IMPRINT The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference 15th – 19th November 2011, Frankfurt am Main, Germany Conference Volume Publisher PROF. DR. DR. H.C. VOLKER MOSBRUGGER Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Editors DR. THOMAS LEHMANN & DR. STEPHAN F.K. SCHAAL Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany [email protected]; [email protected] Language editors JOSEPH E.B. HOGAN & DR. KRISTER T. SMITH Layout JULIANE EBERHARDT & ANIKA VOGEL Cover Illustration EVELINE JUNQUEIRA Print Rhein-Main-Geschäftsdrucke, Hofheim-Wallau, Germany Citation LEHMANN, T. & SCHAAL, S.F.K. (eds) (2011). The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of Early Primates. 22nd International Senckenberg Conference. 15th – 19th November 2011, Frankfurt am Main. Conference Volume. Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Frankfurt am Main. pp. 203. © Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung 2011. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt am Main All rights reserved The scientific content of each paper is the sole responsibility of the author(s). ISBN 978-3-929907-86-5 Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de TABLE of CONTENTS Organising Committee, Scientific Committee, and Sponsors ............................................................................. 5 Preface ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 Programme ............................................................................................................................................................... 11 – Programme at a glance .................................................................................................................................. 12 – Conference venue ........................................................................................................................................... 13 – Oral presentations .......................................................................................................................................... 14 – List of posters .................................................................................................................................................. 19 Abstracts ................................................................................................................................................................... 21 List of participants ................................................................................................................................................ 179 Author index .......................................................................................................................................................... 199 Notes ...................................................................................................................................................................... 203 The World at the Time of Messel: Puzzles in Palaeobiology, Palaeoenvironment, and the History of early Primates 22nd International Senckenberg Conference Frankfurt am Main, 15th – 19th November 2011 Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung CONVENERS T. LEHMANN, V. MOSBRUGGER, S.F.K. SCHAAL (Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung (SGN)) ORGANISING COMMITTEE J. HABERSETZER, O. KULLMER, F. SCHRENK, K.T. SMITH, V. VOLPATO, S. WEDMANN, V. WILDE (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt) SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE C.J. BELL (University of Texas at Austin); M.E. COLLINSON (Royal Holloway University, London); G.F. GUNNELL (Duke Lemur Center, Durham); J.H. HURUM (Natural History Museum, Oslo); J. RUST (Steinmann-Institut für Geologie, Mineralogie und Paläontologie, Bonn); J. HABERSETZER, O. KULLMER, T. LEHMANN, S.F.K. SCHAAL, F. SCHRENK, K.T. SMITH, G. STORCH, V. VOLPATO, S. WEDMANN, V. WILDE (Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt) WITH THE SUPPORT OF 5 6 PREFACE Once or twice a year, the Senckenberg Gesell- 203 species. All these efforts contributed to make schaft für Naturforschung (SGN) supports a confer- Messel one of the emblematic sites of the Eocene. ence as part of its official series. For the year 2011, the conference proposed by the Department of All the more, the fossils from the Messel Pit are in- Palaeoanthropology and Messel Research in Frank- ternationally regarded as a reference fauna and flora, furt was selected as the 22nd International Sencken- used for comparison in studies dealing with terrestrial berg Conference. Its topic: “The world at the time of Eocene organisms. For instance, fossil mammals Messel: Puzzles in palaeobiology, palaeoenvironment, from the Green River Formation, the Bridger For- and the history of early primates”. mation, and the Willwood Formation in Wyoming yield close relatives of Messel species. Some relationships The formation of the Messel maar and the subse- even existed between Europe and Asia, as close rela- quent deposition of the Messel oil shale in the maar tives to the Messel animals have been discovered lake took place during the Eocene. This period, which lately in India. Moreover, for many Eocene mammals lasted some 22 million years, was characterized by a the Messel fossils provide the best or only view of the warm and worldwide little differentiated climate, complete skeleton. Both "old" and "modern" reptile punctuated by thermal maxima. The global climate and amphibian groups coexisted during the Eocene was in fact the most equable of the whole Cenozoic. and quite a few genera from Europe are represented At the beginning of this epoch, right at the Paleocene- by well-preserved, articulated specimens from the Eocene boundary, mammals experienced a major Messel Pit. These specimens are of great interest for turnover. By then, modern orders, like chiropterans precise phylogenetic studies and, given the biology of and primates, had become firmly established in all reptiles and amphibians, can provide important principal land ecosystems. The Eocene was a time of complementary information about environmental elevated sea level and, by the upper Eocene land conditions. The insects from Messel document an bridges between North America and Europe as well impressively high biodiversity in and around former as between South America and Antarctica had been Lake Messel, perhaps comparable to today’s severed. Finally, the end of the Eocene is marked by rainforests. In comparison, they would represent a a major climatic deterioration in combination with the mix from different modern biogeographic regions, Grande Coupure, a large-scale mammalian extinction ranging from the Neotropical to the Australian and event and a general floral and faunal turnover. The Oriental region. Mixed geographic affinities are also Eocene is thus a fascinating and eventful period, observed in the plant taphocoenosis, which is one of suitable as a focal point for international palaeo- the richest and most diverse of the Paleogene biological discussions. It is even more so, as the site worldwide. Finally, the Research Core Messel 2001 of Messel represents one of the best documented not only clarified the genesis of the Messel fossil site fossil sites worldwide. as a maar lake, but also provided a unique pre- Quarternary lacustrine climate archive. Accordingly, The Messel Pit (Fig. 1), the first UNESCO World Messel offers unique and timely insight into the Natural Heritage Site in Germany, and its beautifully greenhouse world of the middle Eocene. preserved fossil fauna and flora have been a highlight in palaeontology since the first notice of a crocodile In this context, the aim of the 22nd International from there in 1876. The quality of preservation, Senckenberg Conference is to gather prominent quantity and diversity of fossils is exceptional. Not international specialists from different disciplines only are a majority of the specimens fully articulated and, through their respective field of interest, to skeletons, they also preserve remains of soft tissue develop a synthetic perspective on continental life on structures like feathers, hairs, and stomach contents. earth during the Eocene, crystallised around the As such, Messel is a peerless window through which emblematic site of Messel. During this conference, we can study life on earth during
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