The fossil lagerstaette Dorn-Dürkheim

The fossil lagerstaette Dorn-Durkheim (Rheinhessen, Germany) is unique in several respects. The site Dorn-Durkheim 1 is the only Turolian locality of Germany and one of the northernmost European occurrences of late Miocene vertebrates. With the publication of this issue of Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments it becomes the best known European site of this age that represents a wooded biotope. It displays an extraordinary biodiversity of mammal taxa, comprising macro- as well as micromammals. The aim of this issue is to further complete the description of the Turolian mammal fauna. Within this context, this introduction presents a comprehensive overview of the topographic and geologic situation as well as the history of investigations of the fossil lagerstaette Dorn-Durkheim, including the late early Pleistocene sites Dorn-Durkheim 2 and 3.