Smilodon is a genus of the extinct machairodont subfamily of the felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and one of the most famous prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats. Smilodon lived in the Americas during the Pleistocene epoch. The genus was named in 1842 based on fossils from Brazil; the generic name means "scalpel" or "two-edged knife" combined with "tooth". Three species are recognized today: S. gracilis, S. fatalis, and S. populator. The two latter species were probably descended from S. gracilis, which itself probably evolved from Megantereon. The hundreds of specimens obtained from the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles constitute the largest collection of Smilodon fossils.
The dire wolf is an extinct canine. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America, along with its extinct competitor Smilodon. The dire wolf lived in the Americas and eastern Asia during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. The species was named in 1858, four years after the first specimen had been found. Two subspecies are recognized: Aenocyon dirus guildayi and Aenocyon dirus dirus. The largest collection of its fossils has been obtained from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
Panthera atrox, better known as the American lion, also called the North American lion, or American cave lion, is an extinct pantherine cat. Panthera atrox lived in North America during the late Pleistocene epoch and the early Holocene epoch, from around 340,000 to 11,000 years ago. The species was initially described by American paleontologist Joseph Leidy in 1853 based on a fragmentary mandible (jawbone) from Mississippi; the name means "savage" or "cruel". The status of the species is debated, with some mammalogists and paleontologists considering it a distinct species or a subspecies of Panthera leo, which contains living lions. However, novel genetic evidence has shown that it is instead from a sister lineage with the cave lion, evolving after its geographic separation. Its fossils have been excavated from Alaska to Mexico. It was about 25% larger than the modern lion, making it one of the largest known felids.
Pygmy owls are members of the genus Glaucidium. They belong to the typical owl family, Strigidae. The genus consists of 29 species distributed worldwide. These are mostly small owls, and some of the species are called "owlets". Most pygmy owl species are nocturnal and they mainly hunt large insects and other small prey.
Gymnogyps is a genus of New World vultures in the family Cathartidae. There are five known species in the genus, with only one being extant, the California condor.
Hancock Park is a city park in the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood in Los Angeles, California.
Paludirex is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylians from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Australia. Remains of this animal have been found in the Riversleigh lagerstätte of northwestern Queensland. It was a medium-sized crocodilian, estimated to grow to at least 4 metres in length.
Mahajangasuchus is an extinct genus of crocodyliform which had blunt, conical teeth. The type species, M. insignis, lived during the Late Cretaceous; its fossils have been found in the Maevarano Formation in northern Madagascar. It was a fairly large predator, measuring up to 4 metres (13 ft) long.
Paramylodon is an extinct genus of ground sloth of the family Mylodontidae endemic to North America during the Pliocene through Pleistocene epochs, living from around ~4.9 Mya–12,000 years ago.
The McKittrick Tar Pits are a series of natural asphalt lakes situated in the western part of Kern County in southern California. The pits are the most extensive asphalt lakes in the state.
Oraristix brea, the La Brea owl, is an extinct owl reported from the Upper Pleistocene asphalt deposits of the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. It was first described in 1933 by Hildegarde Howard as Strix brea, but this extinct owl was recently placed into its own genus by Campbell and Bocheński (2010). The La Brea owl has also been found in the Upper Pleistocene asphalt deposits of Carpinteria, California. Oraristrix brea is interpreted as more terrestrial in habits than forest owls because, compared to North American species of Bubo and Strix, it had longer legs relative to its wingspan.
The asphalt miniature owl is an extinct species of true owl which existed in what is now California, U.S.A. during the Late Pleistocene epoch. The species is known from the La Brea Tar Pits. Its osteology suggests a close relation to the owls of the genus Aegolius.
Hildegarde Howard was an American pioneer in paleornithology, mentored by the famous ornithologist, Joseph Grinnell, at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) and in avian paleontology. She was well known for her discoveries in the La Brea Tar Pits, among them the Rancho La Brea eagles. She also discovered and described Pleistocene flightless waterfowl at the prehistoric Ballona wetlands of coastal Los Angeles County at Playa del Rey. In 1953, Howard became the third woman to be awarded the Brewster Medal. She was also the first woman president of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Hildegarde, throughout her career wrote 150 papers.
Yevgeny Nikolayevich Kurochkin was a Russian paleornithologist at the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He served as President of the Menzbier Ornithological Society.
A list of prehistoric and extinct species whose fossils have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits, located in present-day Hancock Park, a city park on the Miracle Mile section of the Mid-Wilshire district in Los Angeles, California.
The Pleistocene coyote, also known as the Ice Age coyote, is an extinct subspecies of coyote that lived in western North America during the Late Pleistocene era. Most remains of the subspecies were found in southern California, though at least one was discovered in Idaho. It was part of a North American carnivore guild that included other canids like foxes, gray wolves, and dire wolves. Some studies suggest that the Pleistocene "coyote" was not in fact a coyote, but rather an extinct western population of the red wolf.
Capromeryx was a genus of dwarf pronghorns (Antilocapridae) that originated in North America during the Pliocene about 5 million years ago. The closest living relative and only surviving member of the family is the North American pronghorn.
Dynamoterror is a monospecific genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur from New Mexico that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the upper Allison Member of the Menefee Formation. The type and only species, Dynamoterror dynastes, is known from a subadult or adult individual about 9 metres long with an incomplete associated skeleton. It was named in 2018 by Andrew T. McDonald, Douglas G. Wolfe and Alton C. Dooley, Jr. Dynamoterror was closely related to Teratophoneus and Lythronax.
Ultrastenos is an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian first described in 2016. The type species Ultrastenos willisi was discovered at Riversleigh in northwestern Queensland, Australia, and lived during the Late Oligocene era.
Melanerpes shawi is an extinct species of woodpecker from the Pleistocene of California. It was found in the La Brea tar pits. It's part of the genus Melanerpes, which includes twenty-four extant species found across North and South America.
