David C. Parris

David C. Parris is an American paleontologist whose work has been closely tied to the New Jersey State Museum, where state museum materials identify him as Curator of Natural History. He has led and supported fieldwork for decades, especially in vertebrate paleontology and the geology of fossil-bearing formations.

His published work centers on prehistoric life from the Late Cretaceous and related periods. He is especially associated with studies of fossil birds, mosasaurs, crocodilians, and other vertebrates, and he coauthored The Cretaceous Birds of New Jersey with Storrs L. Olson. He has also edited or contributed to volumes such as The Mosasaur and research on marine deposits of the Dakotas.

Parris's career reflects a mix of museum work, field discovery, and scholarly research. In addition to writing, he has been recognized by fellow researchers for encouraging fossil study in the region, and at least one prehistoric animal, Parrisia neocesariensis, was named in his honor.