Daniel is an evolutionary biologist and palaeontologist interested in the evolution of birds and other vertebrates. He has authored over 100 publications investigating how, when, and where Earth's modern vertebrate biodiversity arose.
At Cambridge, he is the Professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology in the Department of Earth Sciences, the Strickland Curator of Ornithology in the Museum of Zoology, and Director of the Darwin-Hamied Centre for Biodiversity at Christ's College.
Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Daniel studied Zoology as an undergraduate at the University of British Columbia, and received his PhD in Geology and Geophysics from Yale. He is a Research Associate in Earth Sciences at the Natural History Museum (London), and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Selected Publications:
Chiappe, L.M., Navalón, G., Martinelli, A.G., de Sousa Carvalho, I., Santucci, R.M., Wu, Y-H., Field, D.J. 2024. Cretaceous bird from Brazil informs the evolution of the avian skull and brain. Nature 635: 376–381.
Benito, J., Kuo, P.-C., Widrig, K.E., Jagt, J.W.M., Field, D.J. 2022. Latest Cretaceous ornithurine supports a neognathous crown bird ancestor. Nature 612: 100-105.
Field, D.J., Benito, J., Chen, A., Jagt, J.M.W., Ksepka, D.T. 2020. Late Cretaceous neornithine from Europe illuminates the origins of crown birds. Nature 579 397-401.
Field, D.J., Hanson, M., Burnham, D., Wilson-Brantley, L., Super, K., Ehret, D., Ebersole, E., Bhullar, B.A-S. 2018. Complete Ichthyornis skull illuminates mosaic assembly of the avian head. Nature 557: 96-100.
