Daniel Geiger, Ph.D.
Curator Emeritus of Malacology
Photo credit: Chuck Place
Dr. Daniel L. Geiger obtained his first degree (Diplom Biologie I) from the University of Basel, Switzerland. His Ph.D. thesis from the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, received the Annual Award from the Malacological Society of London. After a W.M. Keck postdoctoral fellowship in molecular systematics at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles and teaching appointments at USC, he joined SBMNH in 2005 and retired in 2024. He is also a Visiting Research Scholar with the Huntington Botanical Garden, San Marino, California.
Geiger is a globally recognized authority on abalone, minute marine snails (little slit shells), and the orchid genus Oberonia. Equally recognized is his expertise in scanning electron microscopy as well as micro- and macro-photography. He has (co-)authored five books and about 70 scientific articles, and has named over 100 new species of snails, crabs, fish, and orchids. Ten species and one genus are named after him. He has held editorial appointments including Zootaxa, Molluscan Research, and Malacologia, and is an appointed member of the IUCN Mollusk Specialist Group. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, photography, and playing baroque viola d’amore (honorary member of the International Viola d’amore Society, e.V.).
Selected Publications
- Geiger, D. L. 2019. Studies in Oberonia 5 (Orchidaceae: Malaxideae). Twenty-four new synonyms, and a corrected spelling. Blumea 64: 123–139.
- Geiger, D. L., L. T. Groves & J. E. Vendetti. 2019. James H. McLean Memorial Volume. Zoosymposia 13: 346 pp.
- Geiger, D. L. 2012. Monograph of the Little Slit Shells. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. 1291 pp, 1042 figs., 5 color plates, 11 identification cards.
- Geiger, D. L. & Owen, B. 2012. Abalone: World Wide Haliotidae. Conchbooks, viii + 361 pp.
- Geiger, D. L. & B. Ruthensteiner (eds) 2008. Micromollusks: Methodological Challenges - Exciting Results. Zoosymposia 1, i-vi, 1-308.
- Geiger, D. L., B. Marshall, W. Ponder, T. Sasaki & A. Warén. 2007. Techniques for collecting, handling, and preparing small molluscan specimens. Molluscan Research 27 (Special Issue): 1–50.
Further Reading
- Curriculum vitae
- Scientific publications on ResearchGate
- Popular publications
- New species and patronyms
Collaborations & Affiliations
- ABMAP: abalone mapping project in support of abalone distribution records
- Lichtenstein (1794) Catalogus Rerum Naturalium rarissimarum facsimile edition and translation
- International Viola d'amore Society
Press
- Foster, Richard. "The Strange World Of...The Ex." The Quietus. 27 March 2018.
- "Describing a new species using light and scanning electron microscopy." ZEISS Microscopy News Blog. 14 February 2018.
- Pool, Rebecca. "New orchid species under the spotlight." Microscopy and Analysis. 20 February 2018.
- Crawford, Trish. "The science of Bach's world revealed by Tafelmusik." The Star. 3 May 2015.
- Donelan, Charles. "Review: Beauty and Science: the orchid evolves." Santa Barbara Independent. 26 August 2014.
- Dinaberg, Leslie. "The Wild and Wonderful World of Orchids." Santa Barbara Seasons. 13 March 2014.
- "Daniel Geiger's Orchid's at the Smithsonian." SBMNH on Facebook. 1 April 2015.
Contact
Department of Invertebrate Zoology
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
2559 Puesta del Sol
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
dgeiger@sbnature2.org
805-682-4711 ext. 152
