Los Angeles Times
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August 15, 2026
Researchers in Los Angeles have made an interesting new discovery at the La Brea Tar and Museum – an extinct Ice Age amphibian.
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The spadefoot toad, or Spea labreae, is one of only two ice age amphibians to have been found in the U.S. The other is an extinct species of tree frog in Florida, known as Hyla baderi, according to the museum.
“While the toad may be much smaller than the mammoths and saber-toothed cats that made the Tar Pits famous, this discovery has a big impact on our understanding of the climate at the end of the last ice age,” the news release read.
The discovery of the spadefoot toad was made two years ago but published recently in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and marks one of several discoveries made at the Samuel Oschin Global Center for Ice Age Research at the La Brea Tar Pits, where the museum is undergoing renovation.
Unearthing the spadefoot toad wasn’t the result of a targeted search — it happened by accident, much like many of history’s greatest finds.
This story is from the August 15, 2026 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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