Description of a well preserved fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis
- The early Middle Eocene locality of Grube Messel, near Darmstadt (Germany), is famous for its complete vertebrate skeletons. The degree of preservation of soft tissues, such as body silhouettes, internal organs and gut contents, is frequently remarkable. The present specimen was analyzed for remnants of the reproductive system. Classic anatomy and osteology and high-resolution micro-x-ray were applied to describe the fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) was used for determination of soft tissue remnants. The fetus is the earliest and best-preserved fossil specimen of its kind. The postcranial fetal skeleton is almost complete and largely articulated, allowing the conclusion that the pregnant mare was in late gestation. The apparent intrauterine position of the fetus is normal for the phase of pregnancy. Death of mare and fetus were probably not related to problems associated with parturition. Soft tissue interpreted as the uteroplacenta and a broad uterine ligament are preserved due to bacterial activity and allow considerations on the evolutionary development of the structures.
Author: | Jens Lorenz Franzen, Christine Aurich, Jörg HabersetzerGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-390292 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137985 |
ISSN: | 1932-6203 |
Parent Title (German): | PLoS One |
Publisher: | PLoS |
Place of publication: | Lawrence, Kan. |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2015/10/07 |
Date of first Publication: | 2015/10/07 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2015/12/23 |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | (10): e0137985 |
Page Number: | 14 |
First Page: | 1 |
Last Page: | 14 |
Note: | Copyright: © 2015 Franzen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited |
HeBIS-PPN: | 374136386 |
Institutes: | Angeschlossene und kooperierende Institutionen / Senckenbergische Naturforschende Gesellschaft |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 56 Fossilien, Paläontologie / 560 Paläontologie; Paläozoologie |
Sammlungen: | Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte |
Licence (German): | ![]() |