Ida the missing link

1. Ida the missing link By: Kayleigh Potthast and Michaela Valentin

2. Who is Ida??? Ida is believed to be the first of the early hominids back in around 5 million B.C.E. She played an extremely large role in history because if it weren’t for her, humans wouldn’t exist on Earth today. As you go through this PowerPoint, you will learn a lot about Ida and her story.

3. About Ida • Location Found: Messel Pit, Germany • Age: 47 million years old • Completion of fossil: Full skeleton • Year discovered: 1983 • Gender: Female • Diet: Plants, insects, and fruit • Weight of Fur: Lightwieght

4. About Ida (cont.) • Ida is the most complete fossil primate ever found • She is not just an ordinary lemur because she lacks a toilet claw and a toothcomb and has proto-anthropoid traits • She is from an early group of primates just prior to the time when primates diverged into two key groups: the anthropoids and the prosimins

5. Close-up of Ida’s fossil

6. Darwin and Ida Darwinius masillae, (Ida’s full scientific name) is a tribute to the English naturalist Charles Darwin. It’s the 200th anniversary of his birth, and the 150th anniversary of his most important discovery… Ida. It was Darwin who first “discovered” Ida as he continued to believe that somewhere… deep in the forests of nature… Ida existed.

7. Uncovering Ida We are now going to take you into the lab and show you how scientists removed the dirt and stone that held Ida in captivity. Step 1: the fossil is placed on the table Step 2: pour some oilshade on top of fossil; let dry Step 3: heat the top of the fossil Step 4: heat the bottom of the fossil Step 5: scrape off the stone using a shovel Step 6: the process is finished On the next slide, you can visually see this process

8. colour. The plastic wrap is removed and epoxy resin is poured in to a maximum depth of 1 cm. Uncovering Ida (contin.)

9. Messel Pit, Germany • Today, Messel is known as the world's richest treasure trove of Eocene fossils • The secret to the preservation of Messel's fossils lies in its formation • 47 million years ago, Lake Messel was created when magma beneath the earth's surface combined with groundwater, causing a series of volcanic explosions • The formed crater quickly filled with groundwater and rain but with no rivers or major streams to drain it, so the water in the lake was not only very deep but also very still • While the top 65 feet contained some oxygen and could have been rich in life, below that, the still water contained very little oxygen, and very few bacteria

10. Messel Pit, Germany (contin.) • The rainforest surrounding the lake was overwhelmed with life, and whenever a poor animal in the area died, their corpse would be washed into the lake • There, the corpse would slowly sink into the dirt where it would lie undisturbed, decaying very slowly, and compressed by the weight of the water for millions of years • These conditions were perfect for fossilization, not just of bones but also of the animals' finest details • Typically, the shape of a Messel animal's flesh remains in the shale as an outline, which paleontologists call the “skin shadow” • They can tell, for instance, whether the animals had long ears or short ears, and often even the gut contents have remained in situ, allowing them to see the animal's last meal • Ida's last meal, which included fruits, seeds and leaves, can be seen in her stomach

11. The Rainforest • 47 million years ago, Ida's rainforest was located on the same latitude as the southern coast of present day Spain • Floral fossils indicate that Ida lived in a warm, humid rainforest that overwhelmed with life • Over 300 species of plants and animals have been found, but these represent only a fraction of the life that existed here as much of the plant life would have quickly rotted in the moist jungle heat • Many of the plants that grew in the Messel rainforest are only found in the tropics and subtropics today • They are known by their large leaves with pointed ends that are ideal for shedding water in the humid climate

12. The Rainforest (contin.) • Much like modern rainforests, the interior of Ida's forest was divided into four layers • The greatest diversity of plant species lived in the canopy layer, close to the warmth of the sun • This is where Ida probably spent much of her time rubbing shoulders with a wide variety of other climbing, leaping and flying animals

13. Other animals that lived in Ida’s world • Crocodiles, turtles, bats, birds, snakes and insects all lived alongside Ida in the rainforest • These animals were only found in tropical climates • Almost all of the bird fossils from this area had preserved feathers • The amphibian fossils showed soft-body outlines • The insect fossils were often suprizetley large, and some insects’ bodies were still colored after millions of years • The world’s first horses were found where Ida lived, but they weren’t as big as they are today. Instead, they were the size of a small dog!

14. Revolution, Reaction, Reform See how Ida ties into this year’s history fair theme! Revolution – It affected the way people thought about evolution Reaction – Some people made a big deal of the situation because some people thought that Ida was the missing link, and other people didn’t Reform – (none)

15. How did Ida die? It was suspected that she was overcome with carbon dioxide while drinking from Messel Pit lake. Above the lake was a layer formed by nearby volcanic forces. Ida supposedly fell unconscious and fell into the lake perfectly preserved for 47 million years.

16. Our thoughts on Ida We are now going to share our opinions on if we think she is the missing link or not: Michaela – I don’t think that Ida is the missing link because he looks just like an ordinary lemur. Kayleigh – I think that Ida is the missing link because there is a lot of proof of Ida being the missing link. Do you think that Ida is the missing link? If not, Explain why.

17. Ida Quotes “This is a discovery of a great significance” • Sir David Attenborough Broadcaster & Naturalist “This fossil will be pictured in all the school text books for the next 100 years” • Dr. Jorn Hurum Natural History Museum; University of Oslo “It’s hard to think of anything else in primate evolution that’s as complete as Ida” • Dr. Holly Smith Museum of Anthropology; University of Michigan

18. Pictures Here is Ida’s x-ray. You can see that the claw bones on her feet are long so that she can climb and grab things with her claws. This is Charles Darwin. He was the first one who found out about Ida.

19. Ida on the Google homepage! Google changed their icon on Wednesday May 20th to a design including an image of Ida! It's already 47 million years since Ida died and around 25 years since she was excavated from Messel Pit, and Ida has already went viral!

20. Bibliography • www.revealingthelink.com • www.google.com • www.answersingenisis.org • www.online.wsj.com/articles • www.ouimagazine.com • www.nationalgeographic.com • The Link by: Colin Tudge (book) • The Link (film)

21. Learn more about Ida! To learn more about Ida, you can go to www.revealingthelink.com to get even more information!