Mammal Faunal List

Rancho La Brea Mammals List

† = extinct
¶ = Holocene record only
‡ = represented by artifactual material

Order Insectivora

Family Soricidae (shrews)
Sorex ornatus Merriam, 1895
Notiosorex crawfordi (Coues, 1877)

Family Talpidae (moles)
Scapanus latimanus (Bachman, 1842)

Order Primates

Family Hominidae (humans)
Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 ¶

Order Chiroptera

Family Vespertilionidae (bats)
Lasiurus cinereus (Palisot de Deauvois, 1796)
Antrozous pallidus (Le Conte, 1856)

Order Edentata

Family Megalonychidae (ground sloths)
Megalonyx jeffersonii (Desmarest, 1822) †

Family Megatheridae (ground sloths)
Nothrotheriops shastensis (Sinclair, 1905) †

Family Mylodontidae (ground sloths)
Glossotherium harlani (Owen, 1840) †

Order Lagomorpha

Family Leporidae (rabbits and hares)
Sylvilagus audubonii (Baird, 1858)
S. bachmani (Waterhouse, 1839)
Lepus californicus Gray, 1837

Order Rodentia

Family Sciuridae (squirrels)
Spermophilus (Otospermophilus) beecheyi (Richardson, 1823)
Tamias cf. T. merriami (Allen, 1889)

Family Geomyidae (pocket gophers)
Thomomys bottae (Eydoux and Gervais, 1836)

Family Heteromyidae (kangaroo rats and pocket mice)
Dipodomys agilis Gambel, 1848
Perognathus californicus Merriam, 1889

Family Cricetidae (rats, mice, and voles)
Reithrodontomys megalotus (Baird, 1858)
Peromyscus imperfectus Dice, 1925 †
Onychomys torridus (Coues, 1874)
Neotoma fuscipes Baird, 1858
Microtus californicus (Peale, 1848)

Order Carnivora

Family Mustelidae (weasels, badgers, and skunks)
Mustela frenata Lichtenstein, 1831
Taxidea taxus (Schreber, 1778)
Spilogale putorius (Linnaeus, 1758 )
Mephitis mephitis (Schreber, 1776)

Family Canidae (dogs)
Canis latrans Say, 1823
C. lupus Linnaeus, 1758
C. familiaris Linnaeus, 1758
C. dirus Leidy, 1858 †
Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Schreber, 1775)

Family Procyonidae (racoons and ringtails)
Procyon lotor (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bassariscus astutus (Lichtenstein, 1830)

Family Ursidae (bears)
Arctodus simus (Cope, 1879 ) †
Ursus americanus Pallas, 1780
U. arctos horribilis (Ord, 1815) ¶

Family Felidae (cats)
Smilodon fatalis (Leidy, 1868) †
S. fatalis brevipes (Merriam and Stock, 1932) †
Homotherium serum (Cope, 1893) †
Panthera atrox (Leidy, 1835) †
P. onca agusta (Simpson, 1941) †
Felis concolor Linnaeus, 1758 †
Felis sp. (small)
Lynx rufus (Shreber, 1777)

Order Proboscidea

Family Mammutidae (mastodons)
Mammut americanum (Kerr, 1791) †

Family Elephantidae (elephants)
Mammuthus columbi (Falconer, 1857) †

Order Perissodactyla

Family Equidae (horses)
Equus cf. E.  occidentalis Leidy, 1865 †
E. conversidens Owen, 1869 †

Family Tapiridae (tapirs)

Tapirus californicus Merriam, 1913 †

Order Artiodactyla

Family Tayassuidae (peccaries)
Platygonus cf. P. compressus LeConte, 1848 †

Family Camelidae (camels)
Camelops hesternus (Leidy, 1854) †
Hemiauchenia macrocephala (Cope, 1893) †

Family Cervidae (deer)
Odocoileus cf. O. hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)
Cervus cf. C. elaphus (Linnaeus, 1758) ¶ ‡

Family Antilocapridae (New World antelope)
Capromeryx minor Taylor, 1911 †
Antilocapra americana (Ord, 1815)

Family Bovidae (cattle)
Euceratherium sp. cf.  E. collinum Furlong and Sinclair, 1904 †
Bison latifrons (Harlan, 1825) †
B. antiquus Leidy, 1852 †
Ovis aries Linnaeus, 1758 ¶

Reference
Stock, C. 1992. Rancho La Brea: A record of Pleistocene life in California. 7th ed. Revised by J.M. Harris. Science Series no.37. Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 113 pp.