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Science and Nature

How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits?

See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Get a new perspective on our place in the universe and meet extraordinary new friends. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

How Can These Flies Live in Oily Black Tar Pits?

Season 11 Episode 10 | 4m 45s | CC

In the sticky oil seeps known as the La Brea Tar Pits, the tiny petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt that oozes up to the surface. The larvae hunt among the fossilized bones of dire wolves, mammoths and saber-toothed cats.

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