Manuel Iturralde-Vinent
Manuel A. Iturralde-Vinent (born Cienfuegos, 10 July 1946), is a Cuban geologist and paleontologist and former deputy director of the Cuban National Natural History Museum in Havana. He is a scientific personality in Cuba and the Caribbean and President of the Cuban Geological Society for 2007-2016. He has conducted several studies on the Cuban and Caribbean geology, paleontology and caves, publishing a number of books and articles on the subject. In the field of paleontology has been a prominent fossil hunter who shed light on Jurassic of Cuba with Argentinian researchers, especially Zulma Brandoni Gasparini , revising the taxonomy of Cuban species of marine reptiles and dinosaur. He made several discoveries in the field including Vinialesaurus carolii. He has worked with the American Museum of Natural History to discover and excavate Miocene vertebrates at the paleontological site of Domo de Zaza and other localities in Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. He also conducted studies on the Quaternary megafauna discovered in Cuba and various remains of terrestrial vertebrates such as sloths, rodents, birds, reptiles and other prehistoric animals. His work in paleontology, stratigraphy, biogeography, palaeogeography and plate tectonics are summarized in the Red Cubana  de la Ciencia website. For a full list of his books, articles in scientific journals, collaborations with scientists and other agencies, see List of scientific publications by Manuel Iturralde-Vinent or visit publications for an updated list.