"Earth in motion" at the Alte Landesschule - Geopark offered a journey into the past
Pupils in class 6e at the Alte Landesschule Korbach experienced an exciting journey into the past. Together with teacher Dr Marion Lilienthal, they embarked on a geological discovery tour of the GrenzWelten National Geopark and learnt interesting facts about the Korbach "prehistoric dachshund" Procynosuchus. In addition to interesting facts about geology, the Year 6 pupils also learnt exciting things about life in prehistoric times and how the world has changed since then.
Under the motto "The earth in motion", Geopark employee Dr Ute Richter reported that the so-called prehistoric dachshund lived 250 million years ago and was not a dog, but a mammal-like reptile. The Procynosuchus was discovered by Dr Jens Kulick in the Korbach Fissure in 1964, making it the "oldest Korbachian" so to speak. At the time, the geologist had no idea what a treasure he had unearthed.
Since the discovery, it has gradually become clear that the "Korbach Fissure" fossil deposit is one of the world's most important fossil sites and the oldest fossil-bearing fissure in Europe. It was formed by an earthquake in a desert-like plain on the edge of the Zechstein Sea, where the area of the town of Korbach was located 250 million years ago. Flash floods, caused by rare downpours in the desert, washed the desert dust together with dead animals into the fissure, bones of the "Korbach dachshund" as well as bones of the ancestors of dinosaurs and other reptiles.
Mammal-like reptiles such as the Procynosuchus are very rare worldwide, which is why the Korbach Gap is of particular significance. The "prehistoric dachshund" stands at the beginning of the evolutionary history of our modern mammals, and in terms of phylogeny it forms a bridge between the reptiles and the first mammals to appear. It was about 60 centimetres long, had a tail and short dachshund-like legs.
The National Geopark GrenzWelten offers "The Earth on the Move" as a certified education provider for sustainable development (ESD) for all schools within the Geopark area. The original target group was primary school grades 3 and 4; since 2024, secondary schools in grades 5 and 6 have also been able to request the module. Interested schools are asked to contact GrenzWelten using the following contact details:
National Geopark GrenzWelten
Auf Lülingskreuz 60
34497 Korbach
Tel. 05631 954-1313
eMail geopark@lkwafkb.de
Caption
Had a lot of fun with the Korbach prehistoric dachshund and the "Earth in motion": Pupils from class 6e of the Alte Landesschule Korbach with Geopark employee Dr Ute Richter (right) and teacher Dr Marion Lilienthal (2nd from right).
Photo: Dr Marion Lilienthal