Übersicht Abteilungsleitung und Messelforschung

Messel Research & Mammalogy

Messel Research

Objectives

The primary objective of the division is the investigation and reconstruction of the Eocene Lake Messel and its surroundings by divisional employees and volunteers by way of  

  1. taxonomic-morphological examinations of the constantly expanding collection of vertebrate fossils
  2. research projects on phylogenesis, biostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleoenvironment, and paleobiogeography 
  3. the development of models of the history of the lake area and the structural genesis of the isolated geological pit-like formations, as well as of the lake sediments (the Messel Formation).

These objectives will also be implemented in the middle and long-term through collaborative projects with national and international colleagues.

The Division of Messel Research was created in 1992 as part of the Senckenberg Research Institute.

The scientific work is attributed to the Senckenberg research areas Biodiversity and Systematics and  Biodiversity and Earth System Dynamics.