The ancient mare died while still pregnant after breathing in poisonous gases from a volcano, researchers say

Nov 8, 2014 19:57 GMT  ·  By

A while ago, in the year 2000, researchers exploring the Messel Pit site in Germany chanced to come across the remains of an ancient horse. The fossils, pictured next to this article, are estimated to be about 47 million years old.

Fast forward a few years and, in 2009, scientist Jens Lorenz Franzen with Germany's Senckenberg Research Institute and fellow researchers decided to have a closer look at the fossils found by their colleagues nearly a decade back.

Much to their surprise, they soon realized that what they were dealing with was the skeleton of a mare that, at the time of death, was pregnant. Thus, the scientists found the remains of the unborn foal inside its mother's body, Live Science explains.

An exceptional discovery

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Berlin this past November 6, specialist Jens Lorenz Franzen explained that, while it is true that Germany's Messel Pit has so far yielded hundreds of fossils, these horse remains are among the coolest of the bunch.

Thus, they say that, unlike many of the other fossils that have until now been discovered in this part of the country, the mare's and its foal's skeletal remains are perfectly preserved. The majority of the bones are still in their rightful place and the ligament supporting the development of the fetus is still visible.

“Almost all of the bones of the fetus are still articulated in their original position,” study lead author Jens Lorenz Franzen told the press in a recent interview. “Only the skull is crushed,” the Senckenberg Research Institute scientist added.

Although similar to modern horses, this ancient mare was freakishly small. Simply put, it was about the size of a fox terrier. The animal, said to belong to a species known as Eurohippus messelensis, sported four toes on each front limb and three toes on each back limb.

Judging by the size of the fetus and the fact that it had milk teeth at the time when it passed away, specialists believe the mare died very close to term. Still, having analyzed the position of the foal in the uterus, experts concluded that the animal did not die while attempting to give birth.

How did the mare die?

Specialists believe that this 47-million-year-old mare and its unborn foal passed away after becoming exposed to poisonous gases originating from a volcano not far from a freshwater lake. Otherwise put, the horse was probably poisoned while enjoying a sip or two of water.

Eventually, their corpses were engulfed by muddy sediments, and while the tissues were eaten by bacteria, their skeletons became fossilized. For millennia, the mare's and its foal's remains remained hidden in the ground.