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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 



GEOLOGY 



Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1-19 Issued November 28, 1910 



THE CONDOR-LIKE VULTURES 



OP 



RANCHO LA BREA 



BY 



LOYE HOLMES MILLER. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 



Occurrence and nature of material 1 



Richness of fauna 2 



Attractiveness of the locality 3 



Preservation of materia] 4 



Description _ 5 



Gymnogyps californianus (Shaw) 6 



Sarcorhamphus clarki, n. sp ] 1 



Cathartornis gracilis, n. gen. and sp 14 



Pleistogyps rex, n. gen. and sp 16 



OCCURRENCE, AND NATURE OF MATERIAL. 



The conditions which prevailed during the formation of the 

 Rancho La Brea Beds seem to have been especially favorable for 

 the entrapment and preservation of the remains of large vultures. 

 The presence there of an abundance of beautifully preserved 

 material referable to the vulture group is doubtless the result of 

 a variety of causes. 



A consideration of the factors involved leads to their dis- 

 cussion in three general categories: (1) richness of fauna; (2) 

 attractiveness of the locality to vultures in particular; (3) favor- 

 able method of preservation. 



