Iva Njunjić is a cave biologist and a National Geographic Explorer specializing in the evolution and taxonomy of cave beetles. She earned her PhD from Paris-Sorbonne University at the Natural History Museum of Paris.
Her research focuses on evolution, adaptation and speciation in subterranean environments. She combines field surveys and traditional taxonomy with molecular and biometric approaches to explore correlations between cave habitats and adaptive features of cave beetles.
Njunjić is the director and co-founder of Taxon Expeditions, an organization that harnesses the power of citizen science for biodiversity discovery and conservation. Taxon Expeditions organizes expeditions to remote areas, enabling citizen scientists to participate in scientific discoveries. She is also a visiting researcher at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, the Netherlands.
As an experienced speleologist, Njunjić has explored numerous caves across Europe and Asia, contributing to the study of cave fauna.
Her work has been featured in international media outlets such as The Guardian, Forbes, Live Science and National Geographic magazine. Additionally, new species she described were listed among the top ten species discovered in 2016 and 2024.
A passionate storyteller, Njunjić delivered a TEDx talk, 'How I transformed Leonardo DiCaprio into a beetle', inspiring audiences to pay attention to the often overlooked world of insects and other tiny invertebrates.
