The fossil record of Tule Springs Fossil Beds preserves evidence of past life through time. Over tens of thousands of years, animals visited the wetland environments of Tule Springs and left behind their remains. Even partial bone elements or teeth can sometimes be identified to genus or species level by comparing them to more complete fossil remains. The complete record of animals known from the Las Vegas Formation (fossil-rich sediments of Tule Springs) is still growing, and has been compiled from decades of paleontology research. The vertebrate (animals with a backbone) fauna from Tule Springs Fossil Beds is scientifically significant and unique, so it has its own name: The Tule Springs Local Fauna. Some of the animal species within this fauna have gone extinct, others survive in other locations at higher elevations or with more water, and the remaining species still reside at Tule Springs today. Here you can learn more about this fauna and the changing environments of Tule Springs Fossil Beds.
Life at a spring pool
Left image
Tule Springs Fossil Beds 55,000 – 45,000 years ago
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
Right image
Key
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
Abundant groundwater reserves and movement of underground faults allowed springs to bubble up to the surface to form natural pools. Aquatic animals like snails, fish, and turtles thrived underwater, while bison and giant ground sloths took drinks from the surface. Pine and juniper trees were found at lower elevations toward the edges of the valley floor.
Mammoth herd at sunrise
Left image
Tule Springs Fossil Beds 32,000-28,000 years ago
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
Right image
Key
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
When glacial ice was at its last maximum, vast marshes and wet meadows took shape in the Upper Las Vegas Wash. With lush reeds and muddy earth underfoot, Columbian mammoths formed family herds and left behind pieces of their bones and ivory. After the global climate warmed, never again were these desert wetlands so expansive.
Flight above the valley
Left image
Tule Springs Fossil Beds 23,000-18,000 years ago
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
Right image
Key
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
A teratorn flies over the Upper Las Vegas wash with a twelve-foot wingspan. Herds of mammoths, horses, camels, pronghorn antelope, and bison travel through spring-fed streams in search of food and water. The Las Vegas and Sheep mountain ranges stand tall above the valley floor.
A successful hunt
Left image
Tule Springs Fossil Beds 16,000-14,000 years ago
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
Right image
Key
Credit: NPS Image | Julius Csotonyi
When the sun set over the Upper Las Vegas wash, many animals would wake from their daytime rest to hunt or forage for food by moonlight. Many animals, like large carnivores and burrowing rodents, rest during the hottest parts of the day. Two saber toothed cats groom each other after a successful evening hunt. Ancient spring-fed streams flow between rolling hills, catching and burying the bones of Ice Age animals in their gravel-filled banks.
Survivors of Change
Although many species of animals went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, many others survived and adapted to a changing climate. Several plants and animals found at Tule Springs Fossil Beds today are represented in the fossil records of Tule Springs from over 14,000 years ago.
There is beauty in what remains and what continues to change. Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument hosts a diverse and resilient Mojave Desert flora and fauna that is well-adapted to today's arid climate. What we learn about the past and current environments of Tule Springs helps us protect them and adapt to the efects of climate change and urban development. As research and stewardship continue, there is always more to learn about the past, present, and future.
The Tule Springs Local Fauna by species:
The animal species identified from the Tule Springs fossil record are either now extinct (no longer living), extirpated (surviving, but no longer within Tule Springs Fossil Beds), or extant (surviving within Tule Springs Fossil Beds).
Adapted from Scott, E., Springer, K. B., & Sagebiel, J. C. (2017). The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada. Quaternary International, 443, 105-121.
Common Name
Scientific Name
Status
Toad
Bufo sp.
Extirpated
Tree frog (small)
Hyla sp.
Extirpated
Tree frog (large)
Hyla sp.
Extirpated
Pond frog
Rana sp.
Extirpated
Desert tortoise
Gopherus sp.
Extant
Sagebrush lizard
Sceloporus sp. cf. S. occidentalis
Extirpated
Zebra-tailed lizard
Callisaurus sp. cf. C. draconides
Extant
Horned lizard
Phrynosoma sp.
Extant
Night lizard
Xantusiidae
Extant
Coachwhip snake
Masticophis sp.
Extant
Glossy snake
cf. Arizona elegans
Extant
Widgeon (duck)
Mareca americana
Extirpated
Ring-necked duck
Aythya collaris
Extirpated
Lesser scaup (duck)
Aythya affinis
Extirpated
Common merganser (duck)
Mergus merganser
Extirpated
Teratorn
Teratornis merriami
Extinct
Unidentified soaring hawk
Buteoninae
Extant
Coot (aquatic bird)
Fulica americana
Extirpated
Small coot (aquatic bird)
Fulica americana minor
Extirpated
Unidentified owl
Bubo sp.
Extant
Jefferson’s ground sloth
Megalonyx jeffersonii
Extinct
Shasta ground sloth
Nothrotheriops shastensis
Extinct
Cottontail rabbit
Sylvilagus sp.
Extant
Jackrabbit
Lepus sp.
Extant
Pygmy rabbit
cf. Brachylagus idahoensis
Extirpated
Antelope ground squirrel
Ammospermophilus leucurus
Extant
Yellow-bellied marmot
Marmota flaviventris
Extirpated
Botta’s pocket gopher
Thomomys bottae
Extant
Large kangaroo rat
Dipodomys (large)
Extant
Small kangaroo rat
Dipodomys (small)
Extant
Pocket mouse
Perognathus sp.
Extant
Deer mouse
Peromyscus sp. cf. P. maniculatis
Extant
Harvest mouse
Reithrodontomys sp.
Extant
Grasshopper mouse
Onychomys sp.
Extant
Desert wood rat
Neotoma sp. cf. N. lepida
Extant
Meadow vole
Microtus sp. cf. M. californicus
Extant
Muskrat
Ondatra zibethicus
Extirpated
American badger
Taxidea taxus
Extant
Dire wolf
Canis dirus
Extinct
Coyote
Canis latrans
Extant
Mountain lion
cf. Puma concolor
Extant
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
Extant
North American lion
Panthera atrox
Extinct
Sabertoothed cat
Smilodon fatalis
Extinct
Columbian mammoth
Mammuthus columbi
Extinct
Scott’s horse
Equus scotti
Extinct
Small horse
Equus sp. (small)
Extinct
Llama
Hemiauchenia sp.
Extinct
Western camel
Camelops hesternus
Extinct
Deer
Odocoileus sp.
Extirpated
Pronghorn antelope
Antilocapridae
Extirpated
Ancient bison
Bison antiquus
Extinct
Long-horned bison
cf. Bison latifrons
Extinct
Shrub ox
cf. Euceratherium sp.
Extinct
Last updated: June 27, 2023
Park footer
Contact Info
Mailing Address:
Not to be used for navigation purposes
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
601 Nevada Way
Boulder City,
NV
89005