I am a palaeobiologist, interested in the evolution of vertebrate innovations and their medical implications. My research focuses on the development of novelties such as bone remodelling, tooth replacement and cartilage calcification. The aim is to clarify how these novelties underpin the evolutionary and ecological success of vertebrates and their impact on our health. I received my PhD-degree at Tübingen University in 2008, after which I went to Bristol University, UK for a four-year postdoc. In 2013 I came to Leiden as a post-doc at Naturalis and started teaching at IBL as a guest. In 2016 I became Senior Researcher at Naturalis and in 2025 Associate professor at IBL.

More information about Martin Rücklin

Research

The evolution of life is directed towards increasing complexity driven by key innovations according to hypotheses from biological sciences. As a model for this, the rise to dominance of jawed vertebrates over the jawless vertebrates has long been considered contingent on the origin of jaws and teeth and the evolution of the vertebrate skeleton. Recently, the importance of the neural crest, genome duplications and the co-option of ancient genetic networks for the evolution of these key innovations have been controversial. Due to repeated extinction events the extant vertebrate record lacks the intermediate character stages. To test these macroevolutionary hypotheses and evolutionary scenarios the fossil record is needed.

In my research, I apply an integrated approach to placoderms, the first jawed vertebrates, chondrichthyans including stem-groups as acanthodians and osteichthyans including stem-group representatives. I also investigate the evolution of traits with medical implications. For example, cartilage biology is important in osteoarthritis research; bone remodelling has implications in the field of osteoporosis research; and tooth replacement has implications for dental growth defects.

Publications