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To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Museum für Naturkunde publication Fossil Record, the open-access journal has launched a new special issue centred on a seismic event in vertebrate evolution: the fish-to-tetrapod transition and the conquest of land.
This special issue brings together a collection of articles exploring the rise of early land vertebrates and the evolutionary innovations that paved the way for terrestrial ecosystems.
The issue includes a welcoming address by Prof Dr Johannes Vogel, Director General of Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, as well as an editorial celebrating Fossil Record’s 25th anniversary authored by Editor-in-Chief Dr Florian Witzmann and colleagues.
Finally, the journal’s founder, Prof Hans-Peter Schultze, pens his reflections on the challenges and vision that shaped Fossil Record in its formative years.
The fish-to-tetrapod transition
The evolutionary transition of vertebrates from water to land is a major chapter in animal evolution. Around 370 million years ago, vertebrates conquered the land, giving rise to a remarkable diversity of body proportions, feeding behaviours, locomotory, and sensory adaptations.
Tetrapods (vertebrates with four limbs) are of great interest to the scientific community because they can illuminate the rise of modern terrestrial ecosystems and the deep roots of much of today’s terrestrial vertebrate diversity. Indeed, research on early tetrapods is also the study of our own remote ancestry.
The special issue explores this transformation, featuring eight original articles authored by researchers from around the world. Topics range from the palaeoecology of the fish-tetrapod transition to the biomechanics of early tetrapod skulls.
Building a legacy in palaeontology
Since its inception in 1998 as Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Naturkunde, Geowissenschaftliche Reihe, Fossil Record has evolved into a modern, internationally recognised journal. Under its rebranded title in 2006, the journal embraced a global audience with articles published in English.
The transition to open access in 2014 further cemented its role as a leader in palaeontological publishing, allowing unrestricted access to its content while eliminating fees for authors. The journal celebrated 10 years of open access last year along with fellow Museum für Naturkunde journals Zoosystematics and Evolution and Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift.
Celebrating 25 years
“Fossil Record has come a long way in the past quarter of a century. The journal has become very visible in the scientific community and is now firmly established in the top quartile of palaeontological journals worldwide.”
Prof Dr Johannes Vogel, Director General of the Museum für Naturkunde.
“25 years after its foundation, we are celebrating the success of the Fossil Record, which has become a modern, international open access journal and continues to attract authors from all over the world. Such an achievement is always a team effort, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved – my colleagues on the Editorial Board and their tireless commitment to maintaining high standards of article quality; the Coordination Office of the MfN for its steadfast commitment to promoting Open Access at the museum, and the Directorate General for generously covering the author page charges. Last but not least, I would also like to express my special thanks for the smooth and trusting cooperation with Pensoft Publishers!”
Dr Florian Witzman, Editor-in-Chief
As the journal celebrates this milestone, the special issue reflects its commitment to advancing palaeontological research via global collaboration. From documenting early land vertebrates to unveiling the complexities of evolutionary history, Fossil Record continues to illuminate the past while inspiring future discoveries.
Check out the articles featured in the special issue below:
- Habitat of early stegocephalians (Chordata, Vertebrata, Sarcopterygii): a little saltier than most paleontologists like? Michel Laurin
- On Ossirarus kierani, a stem tetrapod from the Tournaisian of Burnmouth, Berwickshire, Scotland, and the phylogeny of early tetrapods Timothy R. Smithson, Marcello Ruta, Jennifer A. Clack
- The last eryopids: Clamorosaurus and Syndyodosuchus from the late Kungurian (Cisuralian, Permian) of Russia revisited Ralf Werneburg, Florian Witzmann
- Unexpected temnospondyl diversity in the early Carnian Grabfeld Formation (Germany) and the palaeogeography of metoposaurids Raphael Moreno, Sanjukta Chakravorti, Samuel L. A. Cooper, Rainer R. Schoch
- Growing giants: ontogeny and life history of the temnospondyl Mastodonsaurus giganteus (Stereospondyli) from the Middle Triassic of Germany Rainer R. Schoch, Florian Witzmann, Raphael Moreno, Ralf Werneburg, Eudald Mujal
- Osteology and revised diagnosis of Cherninia denwai from the Middle Triassic Denwa Formation, Satpura Gondwana Basin, Central India Pummy Roy, Sanjukta Chakravorti, Dhurjati Prasad Sengupta
- Evolution of the tetrapod skull: a systematic review of bone loss Kim Julia Kean, Marylène Danto, Celeste Pérez-Ben, Nadia Belinda Fröbisch
- Terrestrialisation and the cranial architecture of tetrapods Ingmar Werneburg
Here’s to 25 years of Fossil Record and many more to come!
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