TY  - JOUR
A1  - Franzen, Jens Lorenz
A1  - Aurich, Christine
A1  - Habersetzer, Jörg
T1  - Description of a well preserved fetus of the European Eocene equoid Eurohippus messelensis
T2  - PLoS One
N2  - 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.
Y1  - 2015
UR  - http://publikationen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/39029
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-390292
SN  - 1932-6203
N1  - 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
VL  - 10
IS  - (10): e0137985
SP  - 1
EP  - 14
PB  - PLoS
CY  - Lawrence, Kan.
ER  -