Fossil Snake. Unidentified Boa. Eocene. Messel, Darmstadt, Germany. ...

Description

Fossil Snake
Unidentified Boa
Eocene
Messel, Darmstadt, Germany

Fossil snakes are extremely rare in the fossil record due to their light weight and delicate bone structures, especially ones in such great condition such as the present specimen. Clearly visible are the well preserved vertebrae, ribs and skull. It measures 7.25 inches (18.41 cm) in serpentine position and comes displayed on a resin matrix.

50 million years ago a large lake covered with what is now the mining pit at Messel, Germany. Animals would come to drink from its deceptively still waters, linger by the shore and bathe in the shallows. At irregular intervals, a plume of poisonous gas would rush to the surface, asphyxiating any creatures it enveloped. At the bottom of the lake was a thick layer of oil shale which covered over the Eocene animals, preserving them intact across the millennia. Because of the oil rich sediments, an extraordinary degree of preservation exists from this sight, preserving, in some cases, even the soft tissue, skin and fur of these animals.
Overall Measurements: 10.94 x 5.75 x 0.33 inches (27.80 x 14.60 x 0.85 cm)

Provenance: The Property from an East Coast Collection
Phillips, New York, June 8, 1996 (lot 346)

[Scale: 1 inch, with mark at 1 cm]



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