Prof. Dr. Jörg Fröbisch

Tasks

• Professor for Paleobiology and Evolution at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Museum für Naturkunde
• Awardee of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

Research

The origin and early evolution of amniotes, the clade that includes all fully terrestrial tetrapods, led to major changes in the structure and hierarchy of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems, including the evolution of high-fiber herbivory, entirely new locomotor strategies such as climbing and flying, and ultimately the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems. My research focuses on the patterns of diversification, phylogeny, and paleobiology of one of the two major clades of amniotes, the Synapsida, the clade that ultimately led to the evolution of mammals. The application of a number of different approaches combines paleontological fieldwork with modern techniques (3D-imaging) and quantitative methods to shed new light on the initial patterns of diversification of synapsids, the transition from early forms to therapsids (including mammals) and the acquisition of key mammalian features. Ultimately, my research aims to quantitatively investigate trends in the evolution of terrestrial ecosystems, such as in their complexity, as well as to gain a better understanding of the impact of mass extinction events on terrestrial ecosystems, with the focus on the vertebrate fauna.

Research projects

• Early evolution and diversification of Synapsida
• Early evolution of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems
• Early diversification of Ichthyosauria

Publications
(Selection)

Brocklehurst, N., Ruta, M., Müller, J., and Fröbisch, J. (2015) Elevated extinction rates as a trigger for diversification rate shifts: early amniotes as a case study. Scientific Reports 5:17104.

Cisneros, J.C ., Marsicano, C., Angielczyk, K. D., Smith, R. M. H., Richter, M.,
Fröbisch, J., Kammerer, C. F., and Sadleir, R. W. (2015) New Permian fauna from tropical Gondwana. Nature Communications 6:8676.

Fröbisch, J. (2014) Synapsid diversity and the rock record in the Permian-Triassic Beaufort Group (Karoo Supergroup), South Africa. – In C. F. Kammerer, K. D. Angielczyk, and J. Fröbisch (eds.) Early Evolutionary History of the Synapsida. Berlin/Heidelberg (Springer), pp. 305-319.

Fröbisch, J. (2013) Vertebrate diversity across the end-Permian extinction – separating biological and geological signals. – Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 372: 50-61.

Fröbisch, N. B., Fröbisch, J., Sander, P. M., Schmitz, L., and Rieppel, O. (2013) A Middle Triassic macropredatory ichthyosaur and the origin of modern trophic networks. – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110 (4): 1393–1397.