Fernando Etayo Serna is a Colombian

paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

. His contributions on the

paleontology in Colombia Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

has been mainly on the descriptions of

ammonite Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

s and Etayo has helped describing many

fossiliferous A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved i ...

geologic formations of Colombia Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

. Etayo obtained his MSc. degree in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

and

geophysics Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and Physical property, properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct i ...

from the

Universidad Nacional de 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, C ...

in 1963, and his PhD in paleontology from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

in 1975.Curriculum Vitae Fernando Etayo
/ref>

Biography

In 1962, Etayo Serna published his first work about the species ''

Codakia orbicularis ''Codakia orbicularis'' , or the tiger lucine, is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Lucinidae. It can be found along the Atlantic coast of North America, ranging from Florida to the West Indies. Description ''Codakia orbicularis'' grows ...

'' and '' Codakia orbiculata''.Etayo, 1962, ''Codakia orbicularis'' & ''Codakia orbiculata''
/ref>
/ref> He has defined many geologic formations of Colombia in the 1960s and 1970s. Etayo, together with fellow paleontologist

María Páramo María Euridice Páramo Fonseca (1963 – 5 January 2025) was a Colombian paleontologist and geologist.

, collaborated in describing the first

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

fossil found in Colombia, ''

Padillasaurus ''Padillasaurus'' is an extinct genus of titanosauriform sauropod known from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian stage) Paja Formation in Colombia. It contains a single species, ''Padillasaurus leivaensis'', known only from a single partial axial sk ...

'' from the

Paja Formation The Paja Formation (, K1p, Kip, Kimp, b3b6p) is an Early Cretaceous formation (geology), geologic formation of central Colombia. The formation extends across the northern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, the Colombian emeralds#Western belt, W ...

, close to

Villa de Leyva Villa de Leyva, also called Villa de Leiva, is a touristic colonial town and municipality, in the Ricaurte Province, part of the Boyacá Department of Colombia. The town is a Colombian National Heritage Town and is on the tentative list for UNE ...

, Boyacá.Carballido et al., 2015Este es el ''Padillasaurus'', el primer dinosaurio colombiano
- El Tiempo His work has been focused on the descriptions of the various

s found in the same formation.Científicos descubren el primer dinosaurio en suelo colombiano
-

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

He also co-authored the 2016 publication about '' Stenorhynchosaurus munozi'', found in the same formation.Páramo et al., 2016 Etayo has published in Spanish and English.Fernando Etayo
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

.org In 1975, the year Etayo received his PhD degree, he was awarded the Louderbach Memorial Award in Stratigraphy from the University of California, Berkeley. The

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Euungulata ("true ungulates"), which primarily consists of large mammals with Hoof, hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined ...

'' Etayoa bacatensis'', found in the

Late Paleocene The Thanetian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy, ICS Geologic timescale, the latest age (geology), age or uppermost stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Paleocene epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), Serie ...

Early Eocene In the geologic timescale the Ypresian is the oldest age (geology), age or lowest stage (stratigraphy), stratigraphic stage of the Eocene. It spans the time between , is preceded by the Thanetian Age (part of the Paleocene) and is followed by th ...

Bogotá Formation The Bogotá Formation (, E1-2b, Tpb, Pgb) is a geological formation of the Eastern Hills and Bogotá savanna on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The predominantly shale and siltstone formation, with sandstone ...

south of

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

, has been named in honour of Etayo.Villarroel, 1987

Formations described by Etayo

Chipaque Formation 2 - Oysters - Sandstone Bed - Chipaque - Cundinamarca

Works

This list is a selection.

Books

* 1994 - ''Estudios geológicos del Valle Superior del Magdalena'' * 1986 - ''Evaluación de los recursos minerales no combustibles de Colombia'' * 1983 - ''Mapa de terrenos geológicos de Colombia'' * 1979 - ''Zonation of the Cretaceous of central Colombia by ammonites''

Articles

* 2009 - ''Bioestratigrafía de la Plancha 210 Guateque'' * 1985 - ''Paleontología estratigráfica del sistema Cretácico en la Sierra Nevada del Cocuy'' * 1979 - ''La fauna de moluscos del Paleoceno de Colombia. I. Moluscos de una capa del Paleoceno de Manantial (Guajira)'' * 1968 - ''El Sistema Cretáceo en la región de Villa de Leiva y zonas próximas'' * 1964 - ''Posición de las faunas en los depósitos cretácicos colombianos y su valor en la subdivisión cronológica de los mismos'' * 1962 - ''Comprobación biométrica de las especies Codakia orbicularis y Codakia orbiculata''