New Ice Age Toad Species Discovered in La Brea Tar Pits Fossil Collection
Learn more about a newly identified Ice Age toad species whose fossils sat unnoticed in a La Brea Tar Pits collection for decades.
Scientists have recently identified an entirely new species of spadefoot toad, named Spea labreae, from fossils discovered in the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles, California. The discovery, made from fossils collected in the 1950s, adds to the North American amphibian fossil record and provides insights into how the climate changed during the end of the last Ice Age.
Paleontologist Alberto Cruz found the new species while examining the tar pit's long-standing fossil collection and compared the samples to 80 recorded amphibian specimens at various museums. The new toad is larger than related species found today. The discovery also reveals a previously unknown Mexican burrowing toad specimen, the first of its kind found in the southwestern U.S. The unique preservation of fossils in the tar pits, where natural asphalt saturates the bones, makes the site a rare location for preserving delicate amphibian fossils.
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