The Jurassic Seas of Germany | BoneHeads in Germany (Part 1)

The palaeontological heritage of Germany is world-famous and incredibly scientifically important, including sites such as the Messel Pit, Solnhofen, quarries of the Posidonia Shale, and much more! Join the BoneHeads crew on their field trip around this amazing country!
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0:00 - Introduction
1:44 - The Messel Pit
10:15 - Senckenberg Natural History Museum
25:24 - Hunting in a Posidonia Shale Quarry!
33:33 - Visiting Urweltmuseum Hauff
44:33 - Next Time!

[@thelittleal1212]

For someone who once lived in Germany, ammonite fossils are so common, you can find them by accident in the gravel of my old school. Either way, Germany is a cool place for fossils of so many kinds of animals, which just makes me surprised that a lot of German dinosaur media rarely talk about their native paleo fauna(except if it’s archaeopteryx)

[@SiqueScarface]

The story of the Messel Pit is nearly tragic. Previously dedicated as a future landfill, with all the legal framework already in place (in German: Planfeststellungsbeschluss, plan approval order), it took a 15 year legal battle to preserve this site. Scientists don't play a good role in this, as they at first were content with being allowed to explore just one slope of the pit for more fossils for the next decade and didn't mind the other pit to be filled by garbage. In the end, it was more of the authorities giving up the battle, as after that long time, alternative landfills were in place, and they didn't see the need to continue than a legal victory for the preservists.

[@novastein9567]

A series on prehistoric Germany?! YIPPIE!!

[@FeeshUnofficial]

"Jetzt schaue ich Ben G Thomas und trink Cola. YIPPIE!!"

[@DanGamingFan2846]

I'm glad you got to go see such amazing finds in person. Germany really produces some of the most amazing and complete fossil finds ever known.

[@johannderjager4146]

...and their part of th Alps has some the most unique minerals. I like to compare it to the foothills of the Appalachians in NC, so many minerals unique to the area.

[@FieryRed_BE]

like angela merkel

[@birbdad1842]

@@FieryRed_BE Good one

[@thorium222]

The sheer amount of time those fossils made it through to be on display in a museum today makes my head spin. Awesome in the truest sense of the word.

[@BarnsOfChris]

As a former university student I just enjoy these students having the time of their lives with field trips like these. Their passion for their subject is contagious

[@jfu5222]

Thanks, I've been fascinated by Messel and Solnhofen for many years, Archaeopteryx has been my favorite dinosaur since childhood. I find it interesting that both of these sites were originally used for geological resources with serendipitous fossil finds making them famous.

[@bustavonnutz]

When I was studying in Tübingen they had one of the best Paleo collections I had ever seen; almost directly influenced my interest in the Triassic & Permian periods. Glad to see the team make it out to probably one of the most fossil-rich nations in Europe.

[@rex90pawprint]

I love Germany! My partner lives just 10 minutes down the road from the Holzmadden beds, and I even got to hunt there! It was so amazing and the Hauff museum was honestly an incredible experience! Also in the same week we went there, we went to Frankfurt for a weekend and went to Senkenburg (can’t remember how to spell it) where they have the psittacosaurus and messel pits fossils and omg it was amazing!

[@Oinker-Sploinker]

nay gigga

[@SB-qm5wg]

Volcanoes too.

[@hibernianperspective6183]

Those fossils look amazing, and the reconstructions in the Urweltmuseum are really impressive too. Thanks for sharing!

[@floatingbacon3909]

Thank you for taking me on an adventure!!

[@chheinrich8486]

Greetings from one of your German subs😊

[@5amH45lam]

Wow, the level of preservation in the Messel Pit is amazing. What an incredible feeling it must've been for the paleontologist(s) that realised the site's significance. Fascinating video, as ever. Thanks for sharing your exploits and endeavours! 👍

[@tonydagostino6158]

Great trip! Really enjoyed your tour. In 2008-11 I spent a lot of time studying the Jurassic of the Paris Basin, right next door, including visiting the type Hettangian, a huge quarry exposing the Tr/Jr boundary and another exposing most of the Toarcian

[@catherinehubbard1167]

What a dream trip!!! Thanks for sharing it.

[@TheSmartestManonEarth]

Your so lucky Ben! I wish I had thought to present my School speeches as KZbin videos! Cause even now I can remember so many great topics and speeches I gave that could be wonderful KZbin videos.

[@TheSmartestManonEarth]

Keep it up though. I'm excited to check in with you in Ten years and so what your up to

[@rabidsmiles]

Those museums are spectacular. Makes the ones here in the US look so sad in comparison.

[@birbdad1842]

State funding vs private funding makes a huge difference.

[@archaeoraptor6140]

As a german let me say that you guys still have way more amazing collections when it comes to large vertebrates and especially dinosaurs. When I visited the AMNH in New York and stepped into the Hall of Ornithischian Dinosaurs, I was absolutely stunned. The sheer amount of dinosaurs that have been excavated in North America is not comparable to anything we have in Europe.

[@birbdad1842]

@@archaeoraptor6140 That is true. But many of the lesser known museums are desperately in need of renovations. Our museums might be smaller, but most of them are really modern when it comes to presentation. But yeah, large scale paleontology in north america (canada included) is on a whole other level. I mean you just need to take a look at the amount of described material... it's totally crazy. Just the amount of triceratops or t-rex specimens could fill entire halls.

[@JohnyG29]

It's a common human condition to assume foreign things must be better than ones home grown things. It's rarely true however. Most things are equally good or bad.

[@AidanMartin]

Thank you so much for making this as someone who was born in England yet spend a whole decade living in Germany, you nailed down all the important stuff and at times I do wish I am still living there because of the great sites which I been to which includes Holzmaden starting from 2015 up until 2022 would visit every single year throughout that time, Messel which I went for my 14th birthday and Solnhofen for my 15th birthday

[@Chompchompyerded]

Someone needs to feed that big cat. You can see it's bones!

[@jurgen1395]

Germany started the feathered dinosaurs with archaeopteryx and I only know of the German cenozoic mammals and gastornis from walking with beasts

[@carolynallisee2463]

It's crazy enough that Germany has the Solnhofen limestone site and the Messel Pit, but to have other site that contain exceptionally preserved fossils as well... It took the German authorities a very long time to realise just how unique and valuable the Messel Pit was to paleontology, but thank goodness they did!

[@ZalbaarProd]

I am German and even I did not know that we had this many awesome museums.

[@Luftwaffel1944]

Thank you for this video! I'm a fossil hunter in Germany, and it makes me so happy that you have been here. Btw.: Have you been in Hannover Misburg?

[@coocanoot1]

I really enjoyed this trip, I wish more KZbinrs would go to museums and show and explain specimens. I just love to see all the fossils on display, since most of these museums are places I will never be able to go myself. Love it!

[@kylefreeman2975]

I remember the same trip back in 2010, the university really does rather spoil it's palaeontology students with this one, it's fantastic. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@davidroberts3489]

In the late 80s and early 90s while I was stationed south of Frankfort I would go to the Darmstadt museum along with Frankfort and any others I could find time to go to. Darmstadt was my favorite and I was privileged to be living there when they had a massive dinosaur exhibit brought in.

[@juanpascallucianobravado6112]

Love this channel so much. Especially your anatomical nomenclature prowess.

[@20000lbs_of_Cheese]

always a wonderful time seeing what y'all get up to! can't wait for the next one

[@Sarafimm2]

This video was so much fun and I can hear your enthusiasm coming through!

[@toddrouch7526]

Thank you for sharing this incredible adventure with us, Awesomeness!!

[@Garbagegoose344]

I'm so thankful for this channel, I truly appreciate the effort put into these videos

[@strombreakr]

How dare you give me ideas for a Pokémon region based on Germany and nearby areas I'm already working on three Fakemon regions

[@AifDaimon]

Would you be posting videos about them on your channel? I'd love to see the results

[@strombreakr]

@@AifDaimon I can't make art so no :(

[@AifDaimon]

@@strombreakr ah, dang

[@naomiseraphina9718]

Brilliant altogether! Thank you for sharing your adventures! All the best, N.

[@davewilson9738]

Your enjoyment and pleasure of this wonderful road trip was brilliant! Cannot wait for part 2!

[@KrisPSouls9258]

I love looking for fossils in shale. We have a lot of shale around where I live. I wish I could get into the mines they find some cool stuff in them.

[@user-gv4by8tv6l]

Wonderful. Can't wait for part two 😊

[@AdamSeiler]

"flesh mitten" A combination of words I wish I didn't hear today.

[@Kceam]

Fun seeing sites and museums on here that I've been to countless of times

[@jurassicroom7673]

Will we ever see the last part of the Africa trip where Doug looses his mind?

[@captainjacksparrow10e36]

Super cool! I am excited to get a chance to visit some of these localities this summer!!

[@glennhiggins7680]

Outstanding video!!!

[@CollaateraL]

Amazing video dude thank you so much.

[@vividsky1669]

35:00 should note that at least from what I have been told from people who know more than myself, Eurhinosaurus probably was using the long rostrum to sift through the sand for prey rather than using it like a swordfish, which makes sense since it doesn't quite have the same morphology as a swordfish

[@aureaphilos]

You know, for all of its shortcomings, that BBC series made prehistoric life so much more accessible to the general public. As you're walking around, as soon as you said Opthalmosaurus, Dorodon, and Ambulacetus, I immediately had those segments of the program flash in my mind. How truly "awesome" to see the fossils 'in the flesh '! Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us!

[@WaterShowsProd]

Those are some really fantastic displays and some astounding fossils! Have to go there one day.

[@whitegold2960]

I love my local museum in Stuttgart as its mostly Jurassic fossils from our nearest geological formation on the schwäbische Alp in southwestern Germany With a enormous fossil of I believe fossilized seaweedcarpets and an ichtyosaur who’s giving birth That fossil really impressed me

[@billnye9552]

If you want a good museum on the history of the world, go to Gondwanaland - Das Praehistorium, in Saarland! They even have an english audiobook guide!

[@TheCookingRockis]

Amazing Video Fun Fact: in my old school the stairs where made out of limestonse from solnhofen, where you could still see some impressions or some Ammonoidea fossils

[@thebigchimpanski4783]

Great stuff fellas, I wish I could go too

[@colbykeating2412]

I’m lucky enough to have been to all of these museums and I really enjoyed watching you gush over them in a similar way to how I did. I used to go to the senkenburg museum all the time as a little kid and was always enamored. Germany is so fossiliferous that I could go to my local dog park find a little drop-off, start digging and find something. Watching you guys give a more professional view on the museums of my childhood was really nice and I can’t wait for the solnhofen episode. A good read relating to that is ARCHAEOPTERYX The Icon of Evolution by Peter Wellnhofer.

[@mueesli4745]

Great to see some more locations I need to visit in my home country 👍

[@kinderblutsaufenderreptiloide]

Reminds me to my time at the university, when I visited mostly all of these spots. So interesting! I'm going to visit Frankfurt in september...

[@maxplanck9055]

Good to see you had an excellent time learning about fossils in Germany, enjoyable to see this I didn’t know Germany had a Jurassic site✌️❤️🇬🇧

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

About 23:00 The orca skeleton makes me wonder if we get the Basilosaurus's face wrong for so many decades.

[@kayneahnung3661]

hey - you were just a few minutes away from my home when you did visit the Altmühltal Dinopark :-)

[@AifDaimon]

Yess, more JURASSIC content

[@bentowitsh]

This is so fascinating

[@terrypeyton9148]

Woo-hoo!!! A new long video!! 😊

[@SB-qm5wg]

Amazing finds.

[@BattleSyth]

This was an amazing trip

[@JustClaude13]

Another reason for aquatic animals to be born tail first is that they're pointed the same direction of the mother. Makes it easier to orient themselves in the direction Mama is moving. I don't suppose they stop and hold still when they give birth.

[@klarname_online9356]

Thank you for your brilliant video! You really are able to transport the joy of fossil hunting, of deducing anicient eco systems from fossils and your love for paleo stuff! Usually I watch your great channel for reporting recent relevant papers and for field Trips to far away regions such as South Africa... However it is a joy to see you coming to my home country... It is a great reminder what richness in fossils we have here...

[@seretith3513]

Frankfurt Museum can't be enjoyed in a Single day. It's at least two. Because actully enjoying a Museum also means reading everything.

[@dunkelklinge]

Growing up in germany you could just walk around in the woods and crack open random shale and find some fossils. My favourite was the tail of some vertebrate. I’ve always wanted to get it identified.

[@S-T-E-V-E]

Amazing!

[@KellyClowers]

Messel!! awesome!

[@vinniepeterss]

love this

[@theunforgiven2885]

You guys are living a dream

[@aouissi]

NICE! I live next to Messel. Amazing Site!

[@galaxydeathskrill5607]

I love the fossils outside where I am

[@davidwoods7408]

Maybe use something like a laser pointer so you are not touching the glass displays? 27:55

[@Dino24563]

Another video of Mesozoic animals i get to learn more about

[@kersebleptes1317]

Yes, I'll sign your chit: when visiting a site like that, you can say "incredible" & "astonishing" as much as you want!

[@gafrers]

Wonderful

[@gideon9096]

Your German was mostly alright :D glad you hat a good time here

[@patreekotime4578]

I saw that awesome marine croc rendering, and my first thought was... I miss BoneHeads, what the heck is Hamsa up to??

[@nachtkap]

Yay boneheads is back :)))

[@napoleonfeanor]

I have to look if there are any good museums in Northwest Germany.

[@bearhustler]

I've heard that the provenance of that amazing Psittacosaurus a little...dodgy. Still nice to see it.

[@HenrythePaleoGuy]

Oh?

[@bearhustler]

I don't want to get any details wrong but it's a unique fossil so I'm sure you could dig up the details easily.

[@FeeshUnofficial]

I've only visited the Senckenberg NHM, I should really visit some of the others in Germany. I've visited pretty much every natural history museum in the Netherlands already, even the small ones

[@FeeshUnofficial]

I highly recommend that if anyone interested in paleontology is ever in the Netherlands they go to Naturalis, our biggest natural history museum. It's amazing

[@yahwea]

Good to see the Boneheads back. I wonder if Ben or anyone could discuss the ribs of the ichthyosaur that was pregnant. Why do they appear collapsed? Did they have hollow bones? Or am I seeing a "U" shaped rib bone, stronger by having more surface area, and the save weight? Los Angeles

[@hennoxxx]

Would´ve loved to meet you guys in person. So next time you´ll be in Germany let me know and accept my invitation for a beer (or more).

[@Ennomen69]

Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt has much much more stuff of earths natural history and everyone should go there once when possible! :)

[@martinriexinger5824]

Welcome to my home region (Schwäbische Alb)!

[@_Ben___]

13:18 Emilia spotted in the wild.

[@napalmholocaust9093]

Claw chutes? Not sheaths for the cat?

[@danielmalinen6337]

Excluding the central European island, wich was formed by the Bohemian massif, it is surprising how long Germany and Poland remained on as a shallow sea until the Paleogene ice ages came and created the Baltic Sea basin.

[@somescottishlassie891]

Ah such a fascinating fossil... two turtles mid anle, what a way to be immortalised lmfao.

[@neonity4294]

Always weird to see when germany is presented on foreign channels. Especially because the two last locations are located around the swabian jura, a remote and rural place and not even well known among the germans.

[@JHaven-lg7lj]

Thank you so much for sharing this incredible trip with us, I’m definitely going to add visiting the Messel Pit to list of ambitions. Unfortunately because of automated “transcription” most of the scientific speech was just gibberish. I do understand that it takes a lot of time to transcribe what’s said and match it to the video, but it excludes a huge segment of your audience.

[@geesehoward700]

i know you like the dolphin-like Ichthyosaurs but what do you think of the dolphin-like pseudosuchian metriorhynchidae?

[@Sonstbenannt]

I lived in the Senckenberg Museum :)

[@saschaesken5524]

Which fossil were you

[@FieryRed_BE]

Oh you guys were over here in belgium too?

[@kinahloce]

Ammonites are realy commen here, too. You go hiking and can play "count the fossils" in the nearby hills. Just about an hour with the car away ist the place they found the "Tambach lovers" (Tambacher Liebespaar). Overall a nice place to live. Btw, you didn't butcher the pronunciation. It was the best I hearedup until now from an native english speaker. I even thougth, you were german and just did that stuff in english at one point...

[@seretith3513]

Ich hoffe du hast unser Futter genossen

[@charoleawood]

15:05 This ichthyosaur looks like it was crushed flat rather than predated upon --- you'd expect sea creatures to swim as they feast and in so doing scatter materials, there would be a lot less of it lying so close to the body. Cats and canids may feast in one position on the ground, I can't imagine sea creatures doing that. Or perhaps the ichthyosaur was fished out and fed upon on land.

[@noneed4sleep64]

I think the idea is that it floated down to the sea floor where it was fed upon by proto-hagfish and whatever other scavengers were down there

[@MexboroughBuildings]

I wanna go.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

It's honestly amazing how we've found as many creatures as we have over the years. I wish we could see how these creatures would have behaved & I wish we could understand the creatures that don't get preserved in the process of fossilization but that's obviously just day dreaming and wishing things could alter the restrictions of reality lol It would be awesome to see some talented individuals create media showing diverse ecosystems. Instead of the usual approach where we only get to see one, or at most a couple creatures shown at once in most forms of media that we usually see.

[@StaciaHillGoldNuggetAquariums]

The flesh mittens!

[@jaylegeai]

❤