A 50,000 year insect record from Rancho La Brea, Southern California: Insights into past climate and fossil deposition

Holden, Anna R.; Southon, John; Kirby, Matthew E.; Aalbu, Rolf L.; Markey, Molly J.

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.05.001

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…While it is possible that the coprolites and associated plant material were buried and then secondarily preserved in-situ by the same asphalt seep that generated the "main vent" deposit 10,000 years later, this is unlikely because the very climatic and elevational qualities that have heretofore prevented midden recovery from coastlines would very likely have precluded the exceptional preservation of material seen here for 10,000 years prior to impregnation with asphalt. Combined with a previous insect radiocarbon study at Rancho La Brea 15 , these coprolites suggest that the processes dictating preservation of small organisms such as rodents and plants may differ from those producing non-stratified megafaunal assemblages 15 .…”

Section: Uciams # Specimenmentioning

confidence: 54%

“…However, these records are from higher elevation areas; for example, today Lake Elsinore is 400 meters above sea level, while RLB is just 50 meters above sea level and therefore Lake Elsinore may not reflect the local conditions of the Los Angeles basin. The only available quantitative paleoclimate record for the Los Angeles basin is derived from insect-based temperature analogues from RLB, which suggest local conditions were more aligned with modern values, and less mesic and cool than suggested by lake cores (mean summer temperatures within ±5 °C of modern conditions and summer precipitation from 0-40mm 15 ). Unfortunately, paleoclimate inferences from RLB's existing botanical descriptions are currently considered unreliable due to the lack of stratigraphic and taphonomic context (including allochthonous vs. autochthonous origins) for curated isolated specimens 50,51 .…”

Section: Uciams # Specimenmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exceptionally preserved asphaltic coprolites expand the spatiotemporal range of a North American paleoecological proxy

Mychajliw

Rice

Tewksbury

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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As fossilized feces, coprolites represent direct evidence of animal behavior captured in the fossil record. They encapsulate past ecological interactions between a consumer and its prey and, when they contain plant material, can also guide paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Here we describe the first coprolites from the lagerstätte Rancho La Brea (RLB) in Los Angeles, California, which also represent the first confirmed coprolites from an asphaltic (“tar pit”) context globally. Combining multiple lines of evidence, including radiocarbon dating, body size reconstructions, stable isotope analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and sediment analyses, we document hundreds of rodent coprolites found in association with plant material, and tentatively assign them to the woodrat genus Neotoma. Neotoma nests (i.e., middens) and their associated coprolites inform paleoclimatic reconstructions for the arid southwestern US but are not typically preserved in coastal areas due to environmental and physiological characteristics. The serendipitous activity of an asphalt seep preserved coprolites and their original cellulosic material for 50,000 years at RLB, yielding a snapshot of coastal California during Marine Isotope Stage 3. This discovery augments the proxies available at an already critical fossil locality and highlights the potential for more comprehensive paleoenvironmental analyses at other asphaltic localities globally.

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Section: Uciams # Specimenmentioning

confidence: 54%

Section: Uciams # Specimenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptionally preserved asphaltic coprolites expand the spatiotemporal range of a North American paleoecological proxy

Mychajliw

Rice

Tewksbury

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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“…Invertebrate faunas can also provide insights into paleoclimatic conditions in the fossil record ( Elias, 2010 ; Guiot et al, 1993 ; Hasiotis, 2004 ; Holden et al, 2017 ). Data from experimental studies using dermestid and clerid beetles have demonstrated that these organisms prefer desiccated, though not wholly dry, vertebrate carcasses ( Timm, 1982 ; Zanetti, Visciarelli & Centeno, 2014 , 2015 ) and typically inhabit areas with temperatures above 20 degrees Celcius ( Wilches et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of dinosaurian remains inferred by invertebrate traces on vertebrate bone reveal new insights into Late Jurassic ecology, decay, and climate in western Colorado

McHugh

Drumheller

Riedel

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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A survey of 2,368 vertebrate fossils from the Upper Jurassic Mygatt-Moore Quarry (MMQ) (Morrison Formation, Brushy Basin Member) in western Colorado revealed 2,161 bone surface modifications on 884 specimens. This is the largest, site-wide bone surface modification survey of any Jurassic locality. Traces made by invertebrate actors were common in the assemblage, second in observed frequency after vertebrate bite marks. Invertebrate traces are found on 16.174% of the total surveyed material and comprise 20.148% of all identified traces. Six distinct invertebrate trace types were identified, including pits and furrows, rosettes, two types of bioglyph scrapes, bore holes and chambers. A minimum of four trace makers are indicated by the types, sizes and morphologies of the traces. Potential trace makers are inferred to be dermestid or clerid beetles, gastropods, an unknown necrophagous insect, and an unknown osteophagus insect. Of these, only gastropods are preserved at the site as body fossils. The remaining potential trace makers are part of the hidden paleodiversity from the North American Late Jurassic Period, revealed only through this ichnologic and taphonomic analysis. Site taphonomy suggests variable, but generally slow burial rates that range from months up to 6 years, while invertebrate traces on exposed elements indicate a minimum residence time of five months for carcasses with even few preserved invertebrate traces. These traces provide insight into the paleoecology, paleoclimate, and site formation of the MMQ, especially with regards to residence times of the skeletal remains on the paleolandscape. Comprehensive taphonomic studies, like this survey, are useful in exploring patterns of paleoecology and site formation, but they are also rare in Mesozoic assemblages. Additional work is required to determine if 16.174% is typical of bulk-collected fossils from Jurassic ecosystems in North America, or if the MMQ represents an unusual locality.

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“…These sites are generally interpreted as entrapment areas, with exemplar deposits, where mainly mammalian carnivore and associated herbivore taxa were recovered ( Brown, Curd & Anthony, 2017 ). Besides the representative mammalian fauna, these peculiar deposits also often yield small vertebrates, plants, and invertebrates (e.g., insects) in a lagerstätten-type condition ( LaDuke, 1991a ; Ward et al, 2005 ; Friscia et al, 2008 ; Rincón et al, 2009 ; Rincón, Prevosti & Parra, 2011 ; Solórzano, Rincón & McDonald, 2015 ; Holden et al, 2015 ; Holden et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fossil snakes (Squamata, Serpentes) from the tar pits of Venezuela: taxonomic, palaeoenvironmental, and palaeobiogeographical implications for the North of South America during the Cenozoic/Quaternary boundary

Onary

Rincón

Hsiou

2018

PeerJ

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BackgroundTar seep deposits in South America historically are well-known for their rich record of fossil mammals, contrasting with only a few formal reports of reptile remains. Here we report a new snake fauna recovered from two tar pits from Venezuela. The fossil remains come from two localities: (a) El Breal de Orocual, which comprises an inactive tar seep estimated to be Plio/Pleistocene in age; and (b) Mene de Inciarte, an active surface asphalt deposit with an absolute age dating to the late Pleistocene.MethodsThe taxonomic identity of all specimens was assessed via consultation of the relevant literature and comparison with extant specimens. The taxonomic assignments are supported by detailed anatomical description.ResultsThe Mene de Inciarte snake fauna comprises vertebral remains identified as the genus Epicrates sp. (Boidae), indeterminate viperids, and several isolated vertebrae attributable to “Colubridae” (Colubroidea, sensu Zaher et al., 2009). Amongst the vertebral assemblage at El Breal de Orocual, one specimen is assigned to the genus Corallus sp. (Boidae), another to cf. Micrurus (Elapidae), and several others to “Colubrids” (Colubroides, sensu Zaher et al., 2009) and the Viperidae family.ConclusionsThese new records provide valuable insight into the diversity of snakes in the north of South America during the Neogene/Quaternary boundary. The snake fauna of El Breal de Orocual and Mene de Inciarte demonstrates the presence of Boidae, Viperidae, “colubrids”, and the oldest South American record of Elapidae. The presence of Corallus, Epicrates, and viperids corroborates the mosaic palaeoenvironmental conditions of El Breal de Orocual. The presence of Colubroides within both deposits sheds light on the palaeobiogeographical pattern of caenophidians snake colonization of South America and is consistent with the hypothesis of two episodes of dispersion of Colubroides to the continent.

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A 50,000 year insect record from Rancho La Brea, Southern California: Insights into past climate and fossil deposition

Cited by 16 publications

References 40 publications

Exceptionally preserved asphaltic coprolites expand the spatiotemporal range of a North American paleoecological proxy

Exceptionally preserved asphaltic coprolites expand the spatiotemporal range of a North American paleoecological proxy

Decomposition of dinosaurian remains inferred by invertebrate traces on vertebrate bone reveal new insights into Late Jurassic ecology, decay, and climate in western Colorado

Fossil snakes (Squamata, Serpentes) from the tar pits of Venezuela: taxonomic, palaeoenvironmental, and palaeobiogeographical implications for the North of South America during the Cenozoic/Quaternary boundary

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