Rancho La Brea - Fossil Ecosystems of North America: A Guide to the Sites and their Extraordinary Biotas - page 259

Birds
The protective asphalt coating has
preserved more fossil birds than at any
other location in the world. Many were
predators or scavengers, such as condors,
vultures, and teratorns, which became
trapped while feeding on carcasses. The
extinct, raptor-like teratorn, Teratornis
merriami , was 0.75 m (2.5 ft) tall with a
wing-span of 3.5 m (10.5 ft), one of the
largest known flying birds ( 301 ). The large
number of waterbirds, including herons,
grebes, ducks, geese, and plovers, may
have landed on the asphalt, mistaking its
reflective surface for a pond. There are
more than 20 species of eagles, hawks, and
falcons, with the golden eagle being the
most common bird. Storks, turkeys, owls,
and numerous smaller songbirds complete
the bird fauna.

Reptiles, amphibians, and fish
Seven different lizards (Brattstrom, 1953),
nine snakes (La Duke, 1991a), one pond
turtle, five amphibians (including toads,
frogs, tree frogs, and climbing salamanders)
(La Duke, 1991b), and three species of fish
(rainbow trout, chub, and stickle-back)
(Swift, 1979) are known from La Brea,
which suggests that permanent bodies of
water existed in this area.

Invertebrates
Freshwater mollusks (five bivalves and
fifteen gastropods) suggest the presence
of ponds or streams at least during part
of the year. In addition, eleven terrestrial
gastropod species, which would have
lived on leaf litter, have been recognized.
Seven orders of insect include
grasshoppers and crickets, termites, true

301

301 Skeleton of the teratorn
Teratornis merriamiGCPM.
Height 75 cm 2.5 ft; wing-
span about 3.5 m 10.5 ft.