SUPERB DIRE WOLF SKULL. ...

Description

SUPERB DIRE WOLF SKULL
Canis dirus
Pleistocene, Ranchlabrean stage
Rancho La Brea Formation, Wilshire Hauser Pit, California
One of the most famous fossil sites in the entire world is the Rancho La Brea Formation of Southern California, home to Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits. Of the abundance of specimens recovered from the tar, perhaps the most evocative is the skull of the Dire Wolf, numerous examples of which make up an incredible display at the George C. Page Museum located at the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits. Despite their preponderance in the locality, however, exceptionally few specimens are held in private hands, and exceptionally few approach the quality of the present example. Wolves were particularly susceptible to entrapment in this area as it was a classic predator-prey trap; during the last Ice Age, tar seeps occurred in several locations in southern California, covered by benign ponds of cool water that attracted thirsty animals. Large thirsty herbivores would come to drink and the unlucky ones that stepped into the water would be trapped in the sticky tar bottom and pulled slowly downwards. As they struggled furiously to free themselves, their cries of panic would attract opportunistic predators such as the Dire Wolf. In their eagerness, however, the wolves would themselves become mired in the tar, their presence in such numbers due to their pack-hunting methods.

The Dire Wolf was related to the Gray, or Timber, Wolf (C.lupus), somewhat larger at about 5 feet in length but with shorter, stockier legs. The two species co-existed in North America for around 100,000 years, but the Gray Wolf proved the more successful and there are no direct descendants of the Dire Wolf today; they probably became extinct concurrent with the appearance of man on our continent, early Paleo-Indians being the likely culprits in the disappearance of most late Pleistocene megafauna.

This particular specimen comes from the Wilshire Hauser Pit, a construction site in the early 1970's across the street from the original tar pits. Today there is virtually no legal way to collect in the tar seeps, so tar pit specimens such as this are almost irreplaceable. Large carnivore specimens are always sought-after and Dire Wolf fossils in particular are highly prized by collectors because there are almost none in private hands. This exceptional specimen was professionally prepared, is virtually complete with only one portion of the lower jaw composited from another specimen. It measures 12½ inches in length, 6¼ inches wide and comes mounted on a custom display. An outstanding example of a famous fossil from an historic site.

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