Reg. Charity No. 1168330
The Messel Pit, at about 47 million years in age, is arguably the best-preserved ecosystem from the last sustained greenhouse phase of the Earth’s climate. The taxonomic breadth (with 1409 documented taxa so far) and exceptional preservation offer unique insights into a terrestrial ecosystem under climatic conditions that Earth might again experience in coming centuries.
Registration will begin shortly at the conference website: https://www.senckenberg.de/en/institutes/senckenberg-research-institute-...
The conference marks three significant anniversaries surrounding the Messel Konservat-Lagerstätte:
30 years UNESCO World Heritage Status of the Messel Pit Fossil Site (December 1995)
50 years of Senckenberg excavations at the Messel Pit (1975)
150 years since the first fossil was discovered at Messel (December 1875)
While the conference celebrates Messel and its history of study, it will look at the entire Eocene world in its broadest sense, from geology to palaeontology to climate research, with a focus on terrestrial ecosystems. State-of-the-art scientific research will be presented and discussed in an international context.
Seven main scientific topics were selected for the conference: Taphonomy, Life history and reproduction, Organismic diversity, Interspecific interactions, Sensory systems, Biogeography, and Terrestrial palaeoclimate.
Because the sessions address broad questions in the palaeobiology, they will run serially. In addition to four days of scientific sessions, we plan evening events and a field excursion to the Messel Pit.
Five travel grants will be awarded to researchers at early stages of their careers.
We are grateful to the Volkswagen Foundation for supporting this international Senckenberg Conference 2025.