Animals
like the tapir, llama, and peccary are some of the more notable
rare large mammal herbivores at Rancho La Brea and are mainly
represented by just a few bones.
The three-toed tapir is a distant relative of modern horses.
Living tapirs are found in South Asia and South America. The
remains of tapirs are extremely rare at Rancho La Brea, but
their presence points out that the fauna of Rancho La Brea was
quite diverse.
Tapir
Llama
The
llama and peccary are also very rare in the fossil record
of Rancho La Brea. Their modern relatives, like those of the
tapir, are still found in different parts of the modern world.
The llama, a member of the camel family, is represented by
only a few bones. Modern relatives of the llama are still
found in South America. Peccaries are still widespread, ranging
from the southwestern United States to South America.
Foot
Note!Horse & Camel Many
of the large herbivorous mammals found at Rancho La Brea belong in
two different groups: Perissodactyla (periso-dak-tilla) and artiodactyla
(artio-dak-tilla). The perissodactyla are commonly called "odd-toed
ungulates" and the artiodactyla are "even-toed ungulates."
Ungulates are mammals that have hoofs or are the descendants of prehistoric
mammals that formerly had hooves. The western horse and extinct camel
limbs to the right shows that although these animals are similar in
many ways, there are significant skeletal differences between them.
La
Brea Geology
Biodiversity
Rare
Mammalian
Many
of the large herbivorous mammals found at Rancho La Brea belong in
two different groups: Perissodactyla (periso-dak-tilla) and artiodactyla
(artio-dak-tilla). The perissodactyla are commonly called "odd-toed
ungulates" and the artiodactyla are "even-toed ungulates."
Ungulates are mammals that have hoofs or are the descendants of prehistoric
mammals that formerly had hooves. The western horse and extinct camel
limbs to the right shows that although these animals are similar in
many ways, there are significant skeletal differences between them.