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Preface
Since the mid 1990’s, the field of paleoherpetology in
Germany has experienced a remarkable burst in re-
search productivity and importance. In particular, young
students were developing a new interest in the study of
fossil amphibians and reptiles, paralleling a growing
enthusiasm for new analytical tools and methodologies.
One of the best signs of this “new movement” was
the establishment and subsequent success of the Treffen
der deutschsprachigen Paloherpetologen (“Meeting of
German-speaking Paleoherpetologists”), or “Palherp”,
which was first held in Dsseldorf in 1997 and has
since become an institution in the paleontological meet-
ing calendar of Central Europe. Over the years the lists
of participants included not only vertebrate paleontolo-
gists from the German-speaking realm, but also re-
searchers from all over Europe and as far afield as
North America. In addition, the meeting has spread in-
creasingly beyond the borders of paleontology, as indi-
cated by the repeated attendance of comparative zoolo-
gists and extant herpetologists.
In May 2008 the meeting was held for the 12th con-
secutive time, and for the first time at the Museum fr
Naturkunde, Berlin. As a tribute to this premiere, the
increasing success of the meeting and the thriving state
of research in paleoherpetology in Germany, we wish
to present a special volume of the museum’s own jour-
nal, the Fossil Record, which is devoted exclusively to
studies of fossil amphibians and reptiles. Distributed
over two consecutive issues, the topics of the contribu-
tions range from small, newt-like Palaeozoic amphi-
bians to the gigantic sauropod dinosaurs from Tenda-
guru to a simulated bird gastric mill, reflecting just a
portion of the wide diversity of this field.
We wish to thank managing editor Dr. Dieter Korn
und editor-in-chief Dr. Martin Aberhan, who have been
willing to reserve two issues of the Fossil Record for
this special volume, and who have been helpful and
supportive throughout the process. A great thanks goes
also to Ms. Eva Patzschke and Ms. Stefanie Klug for
their technical support. Lastly, we wish to thank all the
authors, as without their contributions this special vol-
ume would not have been possible.
Florian Witzmann and Johannes Mller
Fossil Record 12 (1) 2009, 5 / DOI 10.1002/mmng.200800005
#2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim