Karen H. Black

Black's early career involved extracting, curating and analysing the fossils of the vertebrate faunas within limestone deposits in the region of the Riversleigh World Heritage Area, located in northwestern Queensland. Black's research is focussed on improving our understanding of species interactions, development, faunal change, as well as behaviour, and community structure in ecosystems within Australia. The aim is to provide better understanding about our climate-driven changes in biodiversity.

Black was involved in the naming of a new species of extinct koala, which lived in canopies of northern Australian rainforest, approximately 20 million years ago. The koala was small, and a well-preserved skull of the new species was discovered. The koala species was named after the adventurer, Dick Smith. The species was named Litokoala dicksmithi, and Black reported “We chose the name to thank Mr Smith for his long-term financial support of Australian science, in particular, of fossil research at the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in north western Queensland.”{{Cite web |last1=Queensl |first1=The University of |last2=Lucia |first2=Australia Brisbane St |last3=Gatton |first3=QLD 4072 +61 7 3365 1111 Other Campuses: UQ |last4=Maps |first4=UQ Herston |last5=Queensl |first5=Directions © 2022 The University of |title=20 million year old koala named after Dick Smith |url=https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2013/05/20-million-year-old-koala-named-after-dick-smith |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=UQ News |language=en}} The new species was described within the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.{{Cite web |last=z3454192 |date=2013-05-29 |title=20 million year-old koala named after Dick Smith |url=https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science/20-million-year-old-koala-named-after-dick-smith |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=UNSW Newsroom}}

Her Dorothy Hill Medal was awarded for mammalogy research across the continent, describing the evolution of Australia's mammals, and relating changes across time with planetary-wide palaeoclimatic events, with the goal of providing new evidence-based understanding regarding projected future climate-driven changes within the biodiversity.{{Cite web |title=2012 awardees {{!}} Australian Academy of Science |url=https://www.science.org.au/past-winners/2012-awardees |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=www.science.org.au |language=en}}

Black has worked at Riversleigh, with fossil discovery, and published her findings on a new, extinct species of koala, as well as other species including marsupial moles, possums, wombat-like diprotodontids as well as trunked palorchestids.{{Cite web |title=2012 awardees {{!}} Australian Academy of Science |url=https://www.science.org.au/past-winners/2012-awardees |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=www.science.org.au |language=en}}

Black was described in the book "Rebels, Scholars, Explorers: Women in Vertebrate Paleontology" which describes her work in fossil-rich Riversleigh, with interests lying in biocorrelation and ontogeny.{{Cite book |last1=Berta |first1=Annalisa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y237DwAAQBAJ&dq=karen+black+prizes+mammals&pg=PP84 |title=Rebels, Scholars, Explorers: Women in Vertebrate Paleontology |last2=Turner |first2=Susan |date=2020-10-27 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-3971-6 |language=en}}

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Select publications from Black's work on mammals and paleobiogeography can be found at her Google Scholar page,{{Cite web |title=Karen Black |url=https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=pP0Kc8YAAAAJ&hl=en |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=scholar.google.com.au}} and a selection are listed here:

• The rise of Australian marsupials: a synopsis of biostratigraphic, phylogenetic, palaeoecologic and palaeobiogeographic understanding (2012) KH Black, M Archer, SJ Hand, H Godthelp Earth and life, 983-1078 {{Citation |last1=Black |first1=Karen H. |title=The Rise of Australian Marsupials: A Synopsis of Biostratigraphic, Phylogenetic, Palaeoecologic and Palaeobiogeographic Understanding |date=2012 |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3428-1_35 |work=Earth and Life: Global Biodiversity, Extinction Intervals and Biogeographic Perturbations Through Time |pages=983–1078 |editor-last=Talent |editor-first=John A. |place=Dordrecht |publisher=Springer Netherlands |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-3428-1_35 |isbn=978-90-481-3428-1 |access-date=2022-04-14 |last2=Archer |first2=Michael |last3=Hand |first3=Suzanne J. |last4=Godthelp |first4=Henk}}
• The evolutionary history and diversity of Australian mammals (1999) M Archer, R Arena, M Bassarova, K Black, J Brammall, B Cooke, et al. Australian Mammalogy 21 (1), 1-45 {{Cite journal |last1=Archer |first1=M. |last2=Arena |first2=R. |last3=Bassarova |first3=M. |last4=Black |first4=K. |last5=Brammall |first5=J. |last6=Cooke |first6=B. |last7=Creaser |first7=P. |last8=Crosby |first8=K. |last9=Gillespie |first9=A. |last10=Godthelp |first10=H. |last11=Gott |first11=M. |date=1999 |title=The Evolutionary History and Diversity of Australian Mammals |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/am/am99001 |journal=Australian Mammalogy |language=en |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=1–45 |doi=10.1071/am99001 |issn=1836-7402}}
• Diversity and biostratigraphy of the Diprotodontoidea of Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland (1999) K Black MEMOIRS-QUEENSLAND MUSEUM 41, 187-192{{Cite web |title=Google Scholar |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=12083179195407605101&hl=en&oi=scholarr |access-date=2022-04-14 |website=scholar.google.com}}

• 2012 – Dorothy Hill award{{Cite web |title=2012 awardees: 2012 Dorothy Hill Award for female researchers in the earth sciences |url=https://www.science.org.au/past-winners/2012-awardees#hill |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=Australian Academy of Science |language=en}}

Black has written in the media on fossils, and bones of giant wombats, for SBS {{Cite web |title=Bones of giant tree-wombat unearthed |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/bones-of-giant-tree-wombat-unearthed/h3vneh6tx |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=SBS News |language=en}} as well as for the ABC.{{Cite web |title=Ancient trap captures marsupial secrets - ABC northandwest - Australian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2010/07/15/2953503.htm?site=northandwest&topic=latest |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=www.abc.net.au}} Her work on fossil discovery has also been published in other media.{{Cite web |title=First discovery from 'New Riversleigh' -- a new extinct carnivorous marsupial |url=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/919179 |access-date=2022-04-15 |website=EurekAlert! |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{google scholar id|pP0Kc8YAAAAJ}}
• [https://unsw.academia.edu/karenblack Academia webpage]

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Category:Australian paleontologists

Category:Australian taxonomists

Category:Women taxonomists

Category:Australian mammalogists

Category:Australian women scientists

Category:1970s births

Category:Living people