Oraristrix

Oraristrix brea Temporal range: Pleistocene PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Strigiformes
Family:	Strigidae
Genus:	Oraristrix Campbell & Bocheński, 2010
Species:	O. brea
Binomial name
Oraristrix brea (Howard, 1933)
Synonyms
Strix brea Howard, 1933

Oraristix brea, the Brea Owl, is the an extinct owl reported from the upper Pleistocene asphalt deposits of Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, California. It was first described in 1933 by Hildegarde Howard as Strix brea, but this extinct owl was recently placed into its own genus by Campbell and Bocheński (2010). The Brea Owl has also been found in the upper Pleistocene asphalt deposits of Carpinteria, California. Oraristrix brea is interpreted as more terrestrial in habits than forest owls because, compared to North American species of Bubo and Strix, it had longer legs relative to its wingspan.

References

• Kenneth E. Campbell, Jr. & Zbigniew M. Bocheński (2010). "A new genus for the extinct Late Pleistocene owl Strix brea Howard (Aves: Strigiformes) from Rancho La Brea, California" (PDF). Records of the Australian Museum 62 (1): 123–144. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1975.62.2010.1534. http://australianmuseum.net.au/Uploads/Journals/18089/1534.pdf. 
• Hildegarde Howard (1933). "A new species of owl from the Pleistocene of Rancho La Brea, California". The Condor 35 (2): 66–69. JSTOR 1363650.