Dr. Ludwig Luthardt

Scientific Head of Collection

Ludwig.Luthardt@mfn.berlin+49 0 30 889 140 - 8403
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Department:
Evolutionary Diversity Dynamics

As collection manager, I am responsible for the paleobotanical collection and an associated herbarium. We open up the collections, make them visible to the public and coordinate the diverse research activities. Together with Eva-Maria Sadowski, I also head the paleobotany working group at the MfN. We research the evolutionary history of higher land plants using fossils and reconstruct ecosystems of the geological past.

I work in the collections:
Plants and fossil plants

Project(s)

Vita

I have a doctorate in paleontology with basic geological training. Since my doctorate, I have been fascinated by fossil plants as part of their complex environment. I am particularly interested in their role in prehistoric ecosystems, for example, researching their significance for food networks and coevolutionary processes. An important part of my research is also the adaptations of plants to their location and the climate at the time.

Further information

- since 2021 external lecturer at the Biological Institute of the Humboldt University (field: evolution of plants) - 2019 winner of the Klartext Prize from the Klaus Tschira Foundation (Heidelberg), in the field of science communication

Publications

Luthardt, L., Rößler, R., Stevenson, D. (2023). Cycadodendron galtieri gen. nov. et sp. nov.: An Early Permian Gymnosperm Stem with Cycadalean Affinity. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 184(9), 715-732. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/727458Open Access

Laaß, M., Luthardt, L., Trümper, S., Leipner, A., Hauschke, N., Rößler, R. (2025). Host-specific leaf-mining behaviour of holometabolous insect larvae in the early Permian. Scientific Reports, 15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-15413-xOpen Access

Heřmanová, Z., Kvaček, J., Čepičková, J., Von Balthazar, M., Luthardt, L., Schönenberger, J. (2023). Slavicekia gen. nov., a New Member of the Normapolles Complex from Late Cretaceous Sediments of the Czech Republic. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 184(3), 201-213. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/724155