María Cristina Ardila-Robayo (15 February 1947–24 November 2017) was a Colombian

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

. She was professor at the

National University of Colombia The National University of Colombia () is a national public research university in Colombia, with general campuses in Bogotá, Medellín, Manizales and Palmira, and satellite campuses in Leticia, San Andrés, Arauca, Tumaco, and La Paz, Ces ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

, and worked closely with the Natural History Museum of the university. In 2010 she was credited as having described 28 new species of amphibians from Colombia; as of late 2018, the

Amphibian Species of the World ''Amphibian Species of the World 6.1: An Online Reference'' (ASW) is a herpetology database. It lists the names of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians, which scientists first described each species and what year, and the animal's known range. ...

lists 31 valid species described by her. She also worked with

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America fro ...

s and

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

s and lead biodiversity restoration projects. The following amphibians are named after her: * '' Pristimantis cristinae'' — Cristina's robber frog * '' Rhinella cristinae'' (a beaked toad) * '' Nymphargus cristinae'' (a glass frog) * '' Atelopus ardila'' (a harlequin toad)

Species described

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ardila-Robayo, María Cristina 2017 deaths Women herpetologists Academic staff of the National University of Colombia 1947 births Colombian women biologists 20th-century Colombian women scientists 20th-century Colombian zoologists