David Grimaldi

David A. Grimaldi
Born	September 22, 1957 (1957-09-22) (age 54) U.S.
Occupation	Entomologist, Paleontologist

David A. Grimaldi (born September 22, 1957) 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.

Honors and awards

Some of Dr. Grimaldi's scientific honors include:

• Thomas Say Award, Entomological Society of America, 2007

References

• Grimaldi, D. (1996). Amber: Window to the Past. Abrams. ISBN 0810926520. 
• Grimaldi, D. and Engel, M.S. (2005). Evolution of the Insects. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-82149-5. 

Eponymy

The following are a few of the numerous species that have been proposed in honor of Dr. Grimaldi:

1. Halitheres grimaldii Giribet & Dunlop (a fossil harvestman in Burmese amber)
2. Palaeoburmesebuthus grimaldii Lourenço (a fossil scorpion in Burmese amber)
3. Ambradolon grimaldii Metz (a fossil therevid fly in Dominican amber)
4. Cubanoptila grimaldii Wichard (a fossil caddisfly in Dominican amber)
5. Ctenoplectrella grimaldii Engel (a fossil bee in Baltic amber)
6. Afrarchaea grimaldii Penney (a fossil archaeid spider in Burmese amber)
7. Plectromerus grimaldii Nearns & Branham (a fossil long-horn beetle in Dominican amber)
8. Glabellula grimaldii Evenhuis (a fossil Mythicomyiidae in Dominican amber)
9. Euliphora grimaldii Arillo & Mostovski (a fossil phorid fly in Spanish amber)
10. Phyloblatta grimaldii Vršanský (a fossil roach from the Triassic of Virginia)
11. Glyptotermes grimaldii Engel & Krishna (a fossil drywood termite in Dominican amber)
12. Burmadactylus grimaldii Heads (a fossil pygmy mole cricket in Burmese amber)

Persondata
Name	Grimaldi, David
Alternative names
Short description	Entomologist, Paleontologist
Date of birth	September 22, 1957
Place of birth	United States
Date of death
Place of death