A new species of Ice Age toad discovered at La Brea Tar Pits: The spadefoot toad Spea labreae
Researchers have identified a new extinct species of spadefoot toad, Spea labreae, from fossils found at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. This discovery provides new insights into the paleoecology and climate conditions of the region during the late Ice Age.
Why it matters
The discovery of new species in well-studied fossil sites helps scientists better understand historical biodiversity and climate change adaptation.
by Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Reconstruction of Spea labreae, sp. nov. (dark spadefoots, center and right) in La Brea Tar Pits compared with Spea hammondii (light spade-foot, left), the species currently present in the area, and the presence of the Mexican burrowing toad (Rhinophrynidae, bottom). Credit: La Brea Tar Pits. Artwork by Arturo Dávalos For the first time, researchers have discovered a new species of extinct amphibian from Ice Age Los Angeles at La Brea Tar Pits: a spadefoot toad they have named Spea labreae. Only one other extinct Pleistocene amphibian from North America has ever been found (a tree frog from Florida).
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