| Research Description |
David Grimaldi is primarily interested in the systematics and
evolution of insects and conducts research in systematics, paleontology,
evolution, and general natural history. In addition to his duties as curator
at the Museum, Dr. Grimaldi is currently researching the systematics and
evolutionary biology of the Drosophilidae and other flies. An accurate classification
of fruit flies makes possible a closer understanding of micro- and macroevolutionary
processes in these flies and other organisms. His interests and research
also extend to insect paleontology. He is concerned with the preservation
and systematics of insects found in Dominican and Mexican amber, both of
which are 25 to 30 million years old. He also performs research on amber
from around the world formed during the Cretaceous period. |
| Representative Publications |
Grimaldi, D., 1996. Fossils in amber. Scientific American. April:84.
Grimaldi, D., 1996. Amber: Window to the Past. Abrams/American
Museum of Natural History, New York.
Grimaldi, D., E. Bonwich, M. Delannoy, and S. Doberstein, 1994.
Electron microscopic studies of mummified tissues in amber fossils.
American Museum Novitates. 3097:31.
Grimaldi, D., et al., 1992. Systematics and modes of reproductive
isolation in the Hoarctic Drosophila testacea species group
(Diptera: Drosophilidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of
America. 85:671-685.
DeSalle, R., and D.A. Grimaldi, 1991. Morphological and molecular
systematics of the Drosophilidae. Annual Review of Ecology and
Systematics. 22:447-475.
Grimaldi, D. (Ed.), 1990. Insects from the Santana formation,
lower cretaceous, of Brazil. Bulletin of the American Museum of
Natural History. 195:191. |
