David Blackburn
Curator/Chair | University of Florida
Gainesville, FL, UNITED STATES
David Blackburn is an evolutionary biologist specializing in amphibians at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Biography
David Blackburn is the curator of amphibians and reptiles as well as the associate chair of the Department of Natural History at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Dave's research focuses on the diversity, evolution and conservation of amphibians, especially frogs. His research group conducts studies in natural history museums, at tropical field sites, and in the laboratory using molecular genetic methods or high-resolution CT-scanning. David has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and served as an investigator on more than a dozen external grants, mostly from National Science Foundation, totaling more than $20 million.
Areas of Expertise (7)
New Species
Anatomy
Evolution
Amphibians
Frogs
Fossil Vertebrates
Taxonomy
Media Appearances (3)
Cane toads fling their tongues so hard the recoil slaps their heart
New Scientist online
2022-11-03
Many frog species have tongues that are powerfully sticky and yank prey into their mouths. The muscular and skeletal dance that allows the frog to extend its tongue and ensnare prey is relatively well-understood, says David Blackburn at the University of Florida.
Fossil Shows Cold-Blooded Frogs Lived on Warm Antarctica
The New York Times print
2020-04-23
Helmeted frogs, said David Blackburn, an amphibian biologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History, are more closely related to frogs in Australia than they are to all the other frogs that live in South America.
World's Oldest Rain Forest Frogs Found in Amber
National Geographic print
2018-06-14
However, Blackburn, who is one of the study authors, hopes that as more fossils are collected, they will find even better-preserved samples and be able to compare them with living frogs. That would allow scientists to ask more sophisticated questions about the way these ancient frogs lived and evolved.
Articles (3)
XROMM Analysis of Feeding Mechanics in Toads: Interactions of the Tongue, Hyoid, and Pectoral Girdle
Integrative Organismal BiologyR M Keefe, et al.
2022-11-15
During feeding in many terrestrial vertebrates, the tongue acts in concert with the hyoid and pectoral girdle. In frogs, these three elements are interconnected by musculature. While the feeding mechanics of the anuran tongue are well-studied, little is known of how the motions of the tongue relate to the movements of the skeleton or how buccal structures move following closure of the mouth.
Semicircular canal size constrains vestibular function in miniaturized frogs
Science AdvancesRichard L. Essner Jr., et al.
2022-06-15
Miniaturization has evolved repeatedly in frogs in the moist leaf litter environments of rainforests worldwide. Miniaturized frogs are among the world’s smallest vertebrates and exhibit an array of enigmatic features. One area where miniaturization has predictable consequences is the vestibular system, which acts as a gyroscope, providing sensory information about movement and orientation.
The earliest record of Caribbean frogs: a fossil coquí from Puerto Rico
Biology LettersDavid C. Blackburn, et al.
2020-04-08
The nearly 200 species of direct-developing frogs in the genus Eleutherodactylus (the Caribbean landfrogs, which include the coquís) comprise an important lineage for understanding the evolution and historical biogeography of the Caribbean. Time-calibrated molecular phylogenies provide indirect evidence for the processes that shaped the modern anuran fauna, but there is little direct evidence from the fossil record of Caribbean frogs about their distributions in the past.
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