Image: Fossil millipede (La Brea Asphalt, Pleistocene; La Brea tar pits, Los Angeles, California, USA)

Description: Fossil millipede in tar from the Pleistocene of California, USA. (Orton Geology Museum, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA) From exhibit signage: Rancho La Brea Although the name of this site in downtown Los Angeles means "Ranch of Tar", the sticky material there is not tar but asphalt, formed by petroleum seeping to the surface and becoming thicker as volatiles evaporate. Mined for use on roofs and roads as early as the 1860s, the bones encountered were thought to be those of modern animals until the skull of a saber-toothed cat was found. Since the first scientific excavations in 1901, over 4 million fossils of over 650 species have been found, from beetles to mammoths, going back as far as 40,000 years. Classification: Animalia, Arthropoda, Myriapoda, Diplopoda Stratigraphy: La Brea Asphalt, Pleistocene Locality: La Brea tar pits, Los Angeles, California, USA
Title: Fossil millipede (La Brea Asphalt, Pleistocene; La Brea tar pits, Los Angeles, California, USA)
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/46901958284/
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes