PLEISTOCENE OF EUROPE, NORTH AFRICA, AND NORTH AMERICA 473 



association of horses, mylodont sloths, sal)cr-tooth cats, camels, and Colum- 

 bian mammoths, indicating the life of mid-Pleistocene times. With these 

 animals also occur the bison. The absence of remains of mastodons and tapirs 

 may be due to local causes, since this fauna is chiefly that of the open plains 

 or meadows which surrounded this ancient asphalt lake. The chief forest 

 types thus far mentioned are the deer and the squirrrels. 



Among the characteristic species of mammals thus far recorded are two 

 species of wolves, a saber-tooth {Smilodon calif ornicus) , a leonine cat {Felis 



Fig. 205. — Rancho La Brea, California. Water pool with asphaltic margin and tar ooz- 

 ing out at many points. Great numbers of animals have been entrapped at such localities in 

 the past. Recently a barn owl was caught in the tar at the edge of the pool. Photograph by 

 J. C. Merriam, 1909. 



atrox bebbi), a bison (B. antiquus), a mammoth (f E. columbi), a sloth 

 (Paramylodon nebrascensis) , and a horse (E. pacificus). Among the birds, 

 according to the studies of Miller,^ the raptorial species predominate. No 

 less than thirty-three individuals of the golden eagle (Aquila chrymetos) 

 have been recovered. Among the non-predaceous birds are the great blue 

 heron (Ardea herodias), the American raven (Corvus corax), the Canada 

 goose {Branta canadensis). A new form is Teratornis, a raptorial i}'])e. 

 Especially novel is the determination of a fossil peacock,- because the 



' Miller, L. H., Teratornis, a New Avian Genus from Rancho La Brea. Univ. Cnl. Publ., 

 Bull. Depl. GeoL, Vol. V, no. 21, Sept., 1909, pp. .305-317. 



- Miller, L. H., Pavo californicus, a Fossil Peacock from the Quaternary Asphalt Beds of 

 Rancho La Brea. Univ. Cal. Publ., Bull. Dept. GeoL, Vol. V, no. 19, 1909, pp. 285, 2S9, PI. 25. 



