Franzen Jens Lorenz, Aurich Christine, Habersetzer Jörg
Department Messelforschung, Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department Geowissenschaften, Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Department Universitätsklinik für Kleintiere und Pferde, Veterinärmedizinische Universität Wien, Wien, Austria.
PLoS One. 2015 Oct 7;10(10):e0137985. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0137985. eCollection 2015.
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.
德国达姆施塔特附近的梅塞尔坑（Grube Messel）中始新世早期的化石地点，以其完整的脊椎动物骨骼而闻名。其软组织，如身体轮廓、内部器官和肠道内容物的保存程度常常令人瞩目。本标本针对生殖系统的残余部分进行了分析。运用经典解剖学和骨学以及高分辨率微X射线来描述欧洲始新世马科动物梅塞尔始祖马（Eurohippus messelensis）的胎儿。扫描电子显微镜（SEM）用于确定软组织残余。该胎儿是此类中最早且保存最完好的化石标本。胎儿的颅后骨骼几乎完整且大部分关节相连，可以推断怀有身孕的母马处于妊娠后期。胎儿在子宫内明显处于该妊娠阶段的正常位置。母马和胎儿的死亡可能与分娩相关问题无关。由于细菌活动，被解释为子宫胎盘和宽阔子宫韧带的软组织得以保存，这有助于对这些结构的进化发展进行思考。
