UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 



BULLETIN OF THE DEPARTMENT OF 



GEOLOGY 



Vol. 6, No. 12, pp. 305-316 Issued October 9, 1911 



A SERIES OF EAGLE TARSI FROM THE 

 PLEISTOCENE OF RANCHO LA BREA 



BY 



LOYE HOLMES MILLER 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 



Introduction 305 



Description of Species 307 



Aquila chrysaetos (Linnaeus) 307 



Haliaetus leucoeephalus (Linnaeus) 310 



Morphnus woodwardi, n. sp , 312 



Geranoaetus grinnelli, n. sp 314 



Geranoaetus fragilis, n. sp 315 



Comparative Table of Measurements of the Series 316 



Introduction 



Attention has already been called to the fact that the condi- 

 tions under which the Rancho La Brea birds were entrapped 

 and preserved were especially conducive to the preservation of 

 the tarsometatarsus. 1 This bone is so characteristic a part of 

 the avian skeleton and reflects so readily the characters of the 

 species that in discussing a large amount of material, such as that 

 assembled in the University of California collections, there 

 should be no hesitation in asserting the identity of the specimen 

 to be considered when based on the characters of the tarsometa- 

 tarsus. The above principle is especially true of the Acciptres, 

 a group in which the tarsometatarsus is even more distinctive 

 than is the raptorial beak. 



i Miller, L. H., Univ. Calif. Publ. Bull. Dept. Geol., vol. 6, p. 1, 1910. 



