Fifty million years ago, during the Geiseltalion Period, the Messel area was covered by a large series of lakes which were surrounded by lush sub-tropical forest that supported and incredibly diverse variety of life forms. The oil shale, present today, was created by the slow decomposition of dead vegetation in an anoxic environment combined with the fine grained sediments which accumulated at the bottom of these lakes. Because the plants and animals were deposited at the bottom of these lakes where there was little or no oxygen present, very little disturbance or scavenging would have taken place. This, along with the fine grained sediments, led to the excellent preservation of complete skeletons, including skin, fur, and feathers in some cases. You will find that nearly all specimens from Messel, Germany will be encased in epoxy, resin, or Lucite. This is due to the fact that the shale layers that the fossils are found in are made up of about 40% water and 8% oil. When the water evaporates, the shale and the fossils become very unstable and they turn to powder. They are stabilized with epoxy, to prevent this decomposition, and later as time permits, they are encased in resin or Lucite. Considering that the Messel location was a series of lakes, it is remarkable that very few amphibians have been found there. Palaeobatrachidae, a Messel frog, represents one of five species of amphibians which are found at the Messel site. Dimensions: 5-5/8" x 5" x 5/8"