Riley Black

Black studied Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Rutgers University. They began their career as a science writer by launching the blog Laelaps and eventually branched out to write columns for a number of popular periodicals. They are an author. Her books include When the Earth was Green (released in 2025), The Last Days of the Dinosaurs, Skeleton Keys, and My Beloved Brontosaurus. Black was hired as "resident paleontologist" for the 2015 film Jurassic World. They are a regular guest on the radio show/podcast Science Friday and have starred in the 2022 documentaries Alaskan Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Apocalypse. Black previously wrote under their birth name. In 2019, she came out publicly as transgender and non-binary and started hormone replacement therapy. In the journal Nature, she remarks that “palaeontology presents queer people with terrain as challenging as any fossil-flecked desert.” == Reception ==

Publishers Weekly praised her work on Last Days of Dinosaurs as “top-drawer science writing” that carefully explains to the reader the myriad ways in which scientists reach their conclusions. Booklist said "her work vividly provides the deep knowledge necessary—knowledge of geology, evolution, ecology, paleontology, and more—to understand and appreciate the history and future of life on our planet." In 2023, she won an award for Excellence in Science Books from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. == Bibliography ==