Riley Black is an American paleontologist and science writer. They are the author of several natural history books such as When the Earth was Green and The Last Days of the Dinosaurs. They have consulted on the Jurassic World franchise and starred in multiple paleontology documentaries.
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.
Black said that they want everyone to learn from the experts and embrace the sciences, regardless of educational background.
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. They also give lectures and talks on a regular basis, and was the opening speaker at the 82nd annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
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 âÂÂpalaeontology presents queer people with terrain as challenging as any fossil-flecked desert.â She also said that the field has been healing.
Publishers Weekly praised her work on Last Days of Dinosaurs as âÂÂtop-drawer science writingâ that carefully explains to the reader the myriad ways in which scientists reach their conclusions. Booklist said "her work vividly provides the deep knowledge necessaryâÂÂknowledge of geology, evolution, ecology, paleontology, and moreâÂÂto 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.