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Nieves López Martínez (Burgos, 5 February 1949 - Madrid, 15 December 2010) was a Spanish paleontologist specializing in research on the vertebrate fossil record and part of a group of paleontologists who were responsible for the modernization of paleontological studies in Spain.
Lopez Martinez studied at Complutense University of Madrid, graduating in Biological Sciences in 1970. She received a scholarship to do her PhD work, under the supervision of Dr. Louis Thaler at the University of Montpellier.
López Martínez was recognized worldwide as a leading figure in the study of the evolution of Cenozoic lagomorphs, as well as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event in the area of the Pyrenees. She was also very involved with university teaching programs, both officially at the Complutense University of Madrid and through various projects, such as the Somosaguas Paleontology Project, which was associated with the Somosaguas paleontological site.