water beetle out of tar pit

Here we offer a big sized water beetle (Hydrophylis. species). The fossil is pleistocene age, it was found at the famous Rancho La Brea tar pit, Los Angeles, Kalifornia, USA.

Its age is about 38.000 years (Maricopa formation).

The beetle measures about 3 cm, the matrix is unbroken, it measures about 6 x 5,5 x 3 cm.

Some informations about the location:

The La Brea Tar Pits (or Rancho La Brea Tar Pits) are a famous cluster of tar pits located in Hancock park in the urban heart of Los Angeles, California, United States. Asphalt - colloquially termed tar, which in Spanish is termed brea, has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years, forming hundreds of sticky pools that trapped animals and plants which happened to enter. Over time, the asphalt fossilized the remains. The result is an incredibly rich collection of fossils dating from the last ice age.

Fossils have been excavated from hundreds of the pits in the park. Work started in the early 20th century. In the 1940s and 1950s there was great public excitement over the dramatic mammal fossils recovered. By the 2000s, attention had shifted to microfossils, to fossilized insects and plants, and even to pollen grains. These fossils help define a picture of what is thought to be a cooler, moister climate present in the Los Angeles basin during the glacial age.

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