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Late Quaternary Insects of Rancho La Brea and McKittrick, California

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Scott E. Miller
Scott E. Miller*
Affiliation:
Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 USA
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Abstract

Asphalt-impregnated sediments at Rancho La Brea (Los Angeles County) and McKittrick (Kern County) in California provide a rich Quaternary insect record. Ages of various sites at Rancho La Brea range from more than 40,000 14C yr B.P. to modern. McKittrick insects studied by W. D. Pierce are not contemporaneous with the late Pleistocene vertebrate fauna, but are only about 7000 14C yr old. The major paleoecological groupings are: (1) ground dwellers, (2) aquatics. (3) scavengers, and (4) miscellaneous. Contrary to conclusions of earlier authors, most specimens represent modern species. Only two apparent terminal Pleistocene extinctions are recognized. both dung beetles (Scarabaeidae).

Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 20 , Issue 1 , July 1983 , pp. 90 - 104
Copyright
University of Washington

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