First record of gut contents from a middle Eocene equid from the Geiseltal near Halle (Saale), Sachsen-Anhalt, Central Germany

A recently rediscovered sample of browncoal in the Geiseltalmuseum of the Martin-Luther-University in Halle (Saale), Sachsen-Anhalt, Central Germany, which is labelled as gut content of an early horse has been studied together with the accompanying historic microscopical slides. The material can be assigned to the famous articulated specimen of Propalaeotherium isselanum, which was recovered in 1933 from the upper middle Eocene of the opencast mine “Cecilie” in the former mining district of the Geiseltal. The sample is composed of densely packed plant material, especially leaf fragments but also fruits/seeds and pollen, in a dense matrix of organic material with interspersed quartz grains. The general composition is comparable to the composition of gut contents in the lower middle Eocene equids from the slightly older oilshale of Messel near Darmstadt, Hessen, Germany. Our study supports a more accidental than selective food acquisition for middle Eocene equids, including scavenging in litter.