View the Racho La Brea Collections | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles

View the Collections at Rancho La Brea

The Rancho La Brea biota is one of the world's richest and most diverse late Pleistocene terrestrial assemblages. At the last census, in 1992, the collection exceeded 3.5 million specimens that included over 10,000 fossil vertebrate individuals. The diversity of species (~ 600), the quality of preservation, and the large numbers of specimens makes this collection invaluable for the study and understanding of the end of the last Ice Age in North America. Rancho La Brea is perhaps best known for its extensive holdings of carnivorans, of which dire wolves (Canis dirus, 4,000+ individuals), sabertoothed cats (Smilodon fatalis, 2,000+ individuals), and coyotes (Canis latrans, 400+) predominate among the 60 plus species of mammals.
 

Asphalt is a superb preservative; small and delicate fossils, such as hollow bird bones or paper-thin exoskeletons of beetles are very well-preserved here. As a result, our collection of fossil birds is one of the worlds largest. Although earlier collectors focused on larger specimens, like sabertooth cat skulls and sloth limb bones, the current Pit 91 excavation was started with the specific goal of collecting the microfossils that early excavators passed over. Nearly all of the plants (160 species), invertebrates (205 species), fish (3 species), amphibians (5 species) and reptiles (24 species) are currently known only from Pit 91. Project 23, however, is also focusing on the recovery of all microfossils as well as the larger specimens, and thus far has produced some remarkable specimens, such as articulated millipedes and oak leaf layers. Both are new to the Rancho La Brea collections. This new project will give us environmental data from 16 seperate deposits, with the potential to add new species to the Rancho La Brea faunal list.

Mammals

Approximately 90% of the mammals excavated from Rancho La Brea are carnivores. Learn more >

Birds

Rancho La Brea has one of the best fossil bird collections in the world due to the preservative character of the asphalt. Learn more >

Flora

Conservative estimates indicate more than 100,000 plant specimens have been recovered from Rancho La Brea.  Learn more >

Invertebrates

Considerable numbers of invertebrates have been recovered from Rancho La Brea in from particular Pit 91. Learn more >

Fish, amphibians, and reptiles

The most common fish found thus far is the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Learn more >