One hundred and thirty-two species of vertebrate fossils are known from the Messel Pit Fossil Site (Morlo et al. 2004). The inhabitants of the lake are the most frequent fossils. Eight species of fishes have been confirmed. Mud fish (genus Cyclurus) and bony pike or garfish (genus Atractosteus) are commonly found. Perch (genera Amphiperca, Rhenanoperca, and Palaeoperca), and the Teleostei Thaumaturus are rarer. Only a single 50-cm specimen of the eel, Anguilla, has been found. Non-predatory fish are absent from the fish fauna. In the different oil-shale layers, the composition of the fish fauna varies, indicative of changes in the sediment and other biota of the Messel maar lake (Micklich 2002).