Pleistocene Bird Life of the Carpinteria Asphalt, California
- Creators
- DeMay, Ida S.
Abstract
Recent studies of the fossil birds in the collection of the California Institute of Technology emphasize the need of a survey of the entire avifauna from the Pleistocene asphalt beds near Carpinteria, California. Material is now available which has not been previously identified or described. Furthermore, the present investigation makes available information regarding the Carpinteria avifauna which permits a fuller and more adequate comparison with the fossil assemblages from Rancho La Brea and McKittrick than has been possible heretofore. This survey is based on materials from the Carpinteria asphalt in the collections of the California Institute of Technology, the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and the University of California at Los Angeles, and includes the specimens described by L. H. Miller in 1931. The Santa Barbara Museum collection includes small lots of bones collected from time to time by field parties. Some of the specimens were identified by Hildegarde Howard in 1932 and 1934, but no mention of the new material was made in print. Because the Carpinteria collections were made at various times and by different institutions, it is now difficult to segregate the species into the two avifaunas described by Miller in 1931. As a matter of fact, a separation of this kind appears to serve no particular purpose at the present time. The two original sites of occurrence are now greatly enlarged, and new excavations have been made. For these reasons, the entire avifauna is here considered as a unit.
Additional Information
© 1941 Carnegie Institution of Washington. It is a pleasure to acknowledge my indebtedness to Dr. Chester Stock for the opportunity to study the Carpinteria collection at the California Institute of Technology and for his helpful suggestions and encouragement. Thanks are likewise extended to Dr. Loye Miller, who has made available the Carpinteria material at the University of California at Los Angeles, as well as his comparative collection of Recent bird skeletons. I am indebted to Dr. Hildegarde Howard for her constructive criticism and many helpful suggestions in the preparation of this paper. Dr. Howard not only has permitted use of bird material in the Rancho La Brea and Recent collections of the Los Angeles Museum, but has helped in the identification of a number of specimens. Phil C. Orr, of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, permitted the loan of fossil birds in the Carpinteria collection of the Museum. The diagrams were prepared by David P. Willoughby.Attached Files
Published - DeMay_1941p61.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 110324
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20210820-162353292
- Created
-
2021-08-21Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
-
2021-08-21Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Series Name
- Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication
- Series Volume or Issue Number
- 530
- Other Numbering System Name
- Balch Graduate School of the Geological Sciences
- Other Numbering System Identifier
- 318