Jacob Blokland

I come from a rural area called Broadfields in Canterbury, New Zealand, with a background in geology and biological sciences, which I studied at University of Canterbury. Upon completing my MSc there, which focused on the description, palaeobiology and evolution of Paleocene (62-60 million-year-old) fossil penguins from Chatham Island, I moved to South Australia in 2018 to further pursue avian palaeontology.

I am interested in contributing to the understanding of bird evolution, especially the patterns and processes involved in flightlessness. In addition to the above, I have experience investigating Rallidae, Anatidae, and Dromornithidae with attention to comparative anatomy, functional morphology, phylogenetics, systematics, and taxonomy. My current focus relates to rail-like birds (Ralloidea), specifically assessing Oligocene-Miocene fossil rallid interrelationships.

As part of the Palaeontology Research Group, I am grateful to be involved in the BSc (Palaeontology) degree, where I teach part of the Scientific Illustration topic, phylogenetic inference in the 3rd year Vertebrate Palaeontology, supervise 2nd and 3rd-year student research projects, and assist in tuition where palaeornithology is a focus. Since 2020, I have also been preparing bird skeletons for the Flinders University Vertebrate Collection (FUVC).

I am also Oasis Project Development Officer at Oasis – Student Wellbeing Centre, where I am involved in supporting connection, community and wellbeing at Flinders, including the coordination of Flinders Mates and the Flinders Community Market programs.