David Grimaldi
Encyclopedia
David A. Grimaldi is an entomologist and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York. He received his graduate training at Cornell University
, where he earned his doctorate in Entomology in 1986. Dr. Grimaldi is an authority in many fields of insect systematics, paleontology, and evolutionary biology. He is presently the world's leading authority on the fly family Drosophilidae
(fruit flies) and is a principal expert on amber
fossils and the geological history of insects.
Dr. Grimaldi is also an adjunct professor at Cornell University
, Columbia University
, and the City University of New York
.
Aside from numerous papers in some of the leading scientific journals, Grimaldi is author of Amber: Window to the Past, and of Evolution of the Insects (2005) with co-author Michael S. Engel
.
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
in New York. He received his graduate training at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, where he earned his doctorate in Entomology in 1986. Dr. Grimaldi is an authority in many fields of insect systematics, paleontology, and evolutionary biology. He is presently the world's leading authority on the fly family Drosophilidae
Drosophilidae
Drosophilidae is a diverse, cosmopolitan family of flies, which includes fruit flies. Another family of flies called Tephritidae also includes fruit flies. The best known species of Drosophilidae is Drosophila melanogaster, within the genus Drosophila, and this species Is used extensively for...
(fruit flies) and is a principal expert on amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
fossils and the geological history of insects.
Dr. Grimaldi is also an adjunct professor at Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, and the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
.
Aside from numerous papers in some of the leading scientific journals, Grimaldi is author of Amber: Window to the Past, and of Evolution of the Insects (2005) with co-author Michael S. Engel
Michael S. Engel
Michael S. Engel is an American paleontologist and entomologist. He has undertaken field work in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Western Hemisphere, and published more than 300 papers in scientific journals. He was trained at the University of Kansas where in 1993 he received a B.S. in Cellular...
.
Honors and awards
Some of Dr. Grimaldi's scientific honors include:- Thomas Say Award, Entomological Society of AmericaEntomological Society of AmericaThe Entomological Society of America was founded in 1889 and today has more than 6,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, private industries, colleges and universities, and state and...
, 2007
Eponymy
The following are a few of the numerous species that have been proposed in honor of Dr. Grimaldi:- Halitheres grimaldii Giribet & Dunlop (a fossil harvestmanOpilionesOpiliones are an order of arachnids commonly known as harvestmen. , over 6,400 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the real number of extant species may exceed 10,000. The order Opiliones can be divided into four suborders: Cyphophthalmi, Eupnoi, Dyspnoi and Laniatores...
in Burmese amber) - Palaeoburmesebuthus grimaldii Lourenço (a fossil scorpionScorpionScorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
in Burmese amber) - Ambradolon grimaldii Metz (a fossil therevid fly in Dominican amber)
- Cubanoptila grimaldii Wichard (a fossil caddisfly in Dominican amber)
- Ctenoplectrella grimaldii EngelMichael S. EngelMichael S. Engel is an American paleontologist and entomologist. He has undertaken field work in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Western Hemisphere, and published more than 300 papers in scientific journals. He was trained at the University of Kansas where in 1993 he received a B.S. in Cellular...
(a fossil beeBeeBees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
in Baltic amber) - Afrarchaea grimaldii Penney (a fossil archaeid spiderSpiderSpiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
in Burmese amber) - Plectromerus grimaldii Nearns & Branham (a fossil long-horn beetleBeetleColeoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
in Dominican amber) - Glabellula grimaldii Evenhuis (a fossil MythicomyiidaeMythicomyiidaeMythicomyiids are very tiny flies found throughout most parts of the world, especially desert and semi-desert regions, except the highest altitudes and latitudes. They are not as common in the tropics, but genera such as Cephalodromia and Platypygus are known from these regions...
in Dominican amber) - Euliphora grimaldii Arillo & Mostovski (a fossil phorid flyPhorid flyPhoridae is a family of small, hump-backed flies resembling fruit flies. Phorid flies can often be identified by their escape habit of running rapidly across a surface rather than taking to the wing. This behaviour is a source of one of their alternate names: scuttle fly. They are a diverse and...
in Spanish amber) - Phyloblatta grimaldii Vršanský (a fossil roachCockroachCockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
from the Triassic of Virginia) - Glyptotermes grimaldii EngelMichael S. EngelMichael S. Engel is an American paleontologist and entomologist. He has undertaken field work in Central Asia, Asia Minor, and the Western Hemisphere, and published more than 300 papers in scientific journals. He was trained at the University of Kansas where in 1993 he received a B.S. in Cellular...
& Krishna (a fossil drywood termiteTermiteTermites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
in Dominican amber) - Burmadactylus grimaldii HeadsSam W. HeadsSam W. Heads is a British entomologist and insect palaeontologist, a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and an Officer of the Orthopterists' Society....
(a fossil pygmy mole cricket in Burmese amber)