Florian Witzmann

Dr. Florian Witzmann serves as Curator for Fossil Fishes and Amphibians at the Museum of Natural History Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Research in Berlin, Germany, a position he has held continuously since June 2016 (and previously from April 2009 to November 2014). He also functions as Editor-in-Chief of 'Fossil Record,' the museum's paleontological open-access journal. His academic credentials include a habilitation completed in November 2014 at Humboldt University of Berlin with the thesis 'Physiological aspects of the fish-to-tetrapod transition - skin structure, breathing and feeding in early tetrapods,' supervised by Prof. Johannes Müller, and a PhD earned in September 2004 from the same institution focusing on the Permo-Carboniferous temnospondyl amphibian Archegosaurus decheni.

His research program centers on three primary interconnected domains: (1) physiological adaptations during the fish-to-tetrapod transition in the late Paleozoic, particularly examining morphological and histological changes in dermal bones and scales alongside restructuring of the gill skeleton related to feeding and respiration mechanisms; (2) evolution of cranial muscles in early tetrapods and amphibians; and (3) paleopathology, with special emphasis on spinal diseases in fossil amphibians and reptiles and the evolutionary history of bone healing mechanisms. His work frequently employs advanced imaging techniques including microCT, FIB-SEM tomography, and phylogenetic disease bracketing to analyze both modern and fossil specimens.

Dr. Witzmann's scholarly impact is reflected in publications across prestigious interdisciplinary journals including Nature, Science Advances, Current Biology, The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, and JAMA Oncology. His research has identified ancient diseases in the fossil record such as the oldest known osteopetrosis case in human skeletons, cancer in a 240-million-year-old stem-turtle, and metabolic bone diseases in Permian amniotes. His methodological approach bridges paleontology, evolutionary developmental biology, and clinical medicine to understand deep-time patterns of disease and physiological adaptation.

• Feodor Lynen-Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation (2014-2016) at Brown University's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Endeavour Leadership Award recipient (2019-2020) supporting research at the Queensland Museum, Brisbane

His academic trajectory demonstrates consistent progression from doctoral research on temnospondyl amphibians through postdoctoral work on dermal bone histology to his current leadership role in paleopathology and evolutionary morphology. Dr. Witzmann maintains active collaborations with researchers across Europe, North America, and Australia, contributing significantly to our understanding of vertebrate evolution and the deep history of physiological adaptations.