La Brea Tar Pits Uncover Spea labreae, a New Ice-Age Amphibian
Scientists at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles have identified Spea labreae, the first extinct ice-age amphibian found there, from two 1929 fossils of the spadefoot toad. The tiny 1 cm sacro-urostyle fragments indicate a previously unknown species that lived sometime in the last 60,000 years, highlighting how the tar’s preservation can reveal small fossils long overlooked. The discovery doubles North America’s known extinct ice-age amphibians and, alongside a living relative, the Mexican burrowing toad, hints at a past LA habitat more rainforest-like and informs conservation paleobiology.