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Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles

Do you want to check out a current list of fish, amphibian, and reptile species found at Rancho La Brea? Learn more >

Current Research at Rancho La Brea

Research has been conducted at Rancho La Brea since the early 1900s and continues to this day. Learn more >

 

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Fish, Amphibians, and Reptiles at Rancho La Brea

The large mammals of Rancho La Brea are significant but are by no means the only animals found here. Early excavations were focused on the recovery of large fossils and many of the smaller animals were unfortunately missed. Until recently, many of our fish (three species), amphibians (five species), and reptiles (24 species) were only known from Pit 91 matrix that was sorted under a magnifier in the Fishbowl Lab. It is expected that Project 23 matrix will yield many new species. These smaller animals are important keys to understanding this region during the Pleistocene because they probably lived their whole lives in the Hancock Park area. Many of these species are still living today, but are found in other areas. 

 
The most common fish found thus far is the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). More than 50 spines have been identified although there is a backlog of unsorted matrix that may contain other elements. Sixteen species of snake, 14 of which belong to the Colubridae family, have been identified. The most common is the garter snake (genus Thamnophis). This semiaquatic snake feeds on frogs, tadpoles, and other aquatic or semiaquatic animals, suggesting that the area must have had either permanent or seasonal water sources. Garter snakes are represented by well over 900 vertebrae, accounting for nearly 70% of all our snake species. Arboreal salamanders (Aneides lugubris), toads (Bufo sp.), and tree frogs (Hyla sp.) have also been found, corroborating the idea that water sources existed in the vicinity of the park during the end of the Pleistocene.

 


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