Analysis of a 48-million-year-old fossil of a horse-like equoid fetus discovered, together with the fossil of its mother, in 2000 at the Messel pit near Frankfurt, Germany, is reported in a study published online on October 7, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. The report was authored by Jens Lorenz Franzen, Ph.D., from Senckenberg Research Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, and also from the Naturhistorisches Museum in Basel, Switzerland, together with colleagues. The article is titled “Description of a Well Preserved Fetus of the European Eocene Equoid Eurohippus messelensis.” The authors of this study completed their investigation of the fetus from a 48-million-year-old horse-like equoid uncovered near Frankfurt, Germany, in 2000. They evaluated the bones and anatomy and used scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution micro-x-ray technologies to describe the ~12.5 cm fetus. The fetus appears to be well-preserved, with almost all bones present and connected, except for the skull, which appears to have been crushed. The well-preserved condition of the fossil allowed the researchers to reconstruct the original appearance and position of the fetus. They estimate that the mare may have died shortly before birth, but they don't believe the death was related to birth. The authors also found preserved soft tissue, like the uteroplacenta and one broad uterine ligament, which may represent the earliest fossil record of the uterine system of a placental mammal. Applying SEM, the authors discovered a bacterial lawn replacing the soft tissues, as is common with other specimens found in that area. The observable details correspond largely with living mares, which lead the authors to posit that the reproductive system was already highly developed during the Paleocene era, and possibly even earlier.Login Or Register To Read Full Story