Suzanne Hand

Suzanne Hand is an Australian vertebrate paleontologist whose research focuses on the evolution and fossil history of mammals, with particular emphasis on bats. She is closely associated with research on the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland, one of the world's most significant fossil mammal deposits. Her work has helped document the deep evolutionary history of the Australian mammal fauna.

The Riversleigh World Heritage Area is located in northwestern Queensland, Australia, and preserves tens of millions of years of vertebrate evolutionary history. Hand's research on fossil bats and other mammals from Riversleigh has described numerous extinct species new to science. The site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.

Hand's research on fossil bats from Riversleigh and other Australian sites has documented ancient bat diversity in the Southern Hemisphere, including extinct species that help fill gaps in understanding bat evolution and biogeography. She has described and named several new fossil bat species based on Riversleigh material. Her work has implications for understanding how bats dispersed across ancient landmasses.

Suzanne Hand is associated with the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where she conducts her paleontological research. She has collaborated extensively with other Riversleigh researchers, including Mike Archer. Her published work appears in numerous peer-reviewed journals on paleontology and vertebrate evolution.