Fossil Owl bones and Beetle (Hydrophilus triangularis), Maricopa Tar Seeps, Kern County, California (Pleistocene)

This agglomeration of bones and insects is remarkable to study up close. There is one nice beetle, Tropisternus, flanked by several small rodent bones and plant stems. An owl wing phalanx is also present which I have never seen before. There are other unidentified bones as well. These fossils were collected in the 1970s by world famous fossil collector, the late, George Lee. George collected these on private oil company land, with full permission, at the Maricopa tar seeps (similar to the more famous La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles). These have been prepped out from the tar, by George Heslep of Florida, using other hydrocarbons. Mr Heslep has painstakingly researched and identified every individual fossil element in this piece. The locality is Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) in age. From Maricopa Tar Seeps, west side of the San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, California. Dimensions: 5 x 6 cm