Bone Wars

Introduction

In the late nineteenth century, pioneer paleontologists Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope competed to amass the greatest number of discoveries from newly unearthed fossil beds in the western United States. At its height, this scientific war escalated to incidents of theft and fossil destruction, and even spilled out into the pages of newspapers and scientific journals. Dubbed the “Bone Wars,” it left both Marsh and Cope in financial ruin and compromised a great deal of their scientific credibility and work.

During their rivalry, Marsh and Cope discovered more than 140 new dinosaur species and created intense public interest in dinosaurs and other extinct creatures. It took scientists more than 50 years to examine and describe the hundreds of fossils collected by Marsh, Cope, and others who participated in early expeditions to the western United States, most notably the Morrison Formation, the outcrops of which spans several states. However, despite the discoveries and the breadth of their implications, the personal rivalry between Marsh and Cope damaged the reputation of American paleontology. Though historians describe Marsh and Cope's rivalry as a prime example of “poor science,” both men are remembered as key figures in early paleontology and important contributors to major breakthroughs in the field.

Key Terms

Darwinian Evolution: Theory formulated by Charles Darwin that the evolution of species is the result of random, gradual mutations inherited from parent to offspring.

Dryptosaurus: Genus of mid-sized theropods from Cretaceous North America that were distant relatives of the tyrannosaur group.

Elasmosaurus: Genus of extinct aquatic reptile in the plesiosaur group that lived during the Cretaceous.

Hadrosaurus: Genus of dinosaur whose name has been expanded to apply to a large group of dinosaurs that were one of the most successful dinosaur groups in the Cretaceous; sometimes called duck-billed dinosaurs.

Morrison Formation: Formation of Jurassic sediment, consisting primarily of limestone, mudstone, and sandstone, distributed through a large portion of North America from New Mexico to Canada.

Neo-Lamarckianism: Theory that changes in the physical or mental state of an organism that develops during its lifespan can be passed on to the organism's offspring; it served as an alternative to Darwinian evolution.

Sauropods: Any of a large group of herbivorous saurischian (“lizard-hipped”) dinosaurs characterized by long necks and large body size.

Key Players

Joseph Leidy: Leidy, a professor of medicine and curator at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, served as a mentor to Edward D. Cope and is now recognized as the first prominent vertebrate paleontologist in the United States. Leidy described the first dinosaur skeleton found in the United States, a specimen of Hadrosaurus uncovered from New Jersey fossil beds in 1858. Leidy initially competed with Marsh and Cope to explore the fossil beds of the American West, but later retreated from paleontology when the rivalry between the two eliminated his fossil sources. He turned his attention elsewhere and went on to make significant discoveries in parasitology (study of parasites).

Edward Drinker Cope: Cope was one of America's first prominent paleontologists and is credited with the discovery of the second dinosaur species found in the United States, which he called Laelaps (now known as Dryptosaurus). He is also credited with the discovery of more than 50 extinct species during the “Bone Wars” of the late nineteenth century. In addition, Cope holds the current record for authoring the greatest number of scientific papers, with more than 1,200 publications to his credit. Cope also published a number of books, including The Vertebrata of the Tertiary Formations of the West (1884), often considered his greatest work.

Othniel Charles Marsh: Employed at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, Marsh was America's first university professor of paleontology and helped to establish Yale as one of the world's leading paleontological institutions. Marsh discovered more than 80 species and used many of his fossils to piece together strong evidence supporting Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. His best known publications include Fossil Horses in America (1874) and Odontornithes: A Monograph of the Extinct Toothed Birds of North America (1880), the latter of which included a wealth of evidence suggesting that birds evolved from reptilian ancestors.

History

Beginning of the Feud: In 1868, the world's first mounted dinosaur skeleton, then called Hadrosaurus, was put on display at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Edward Cope was one of the researchers who worked on reconstructing the skeleton, unearthed from fossil beds in Haddonfield, New Jersey. That same year, Professor Othniel Marsh visited the American West, where he felt that erosion and the dry climate created the potential for significant fossil discoveries. Like many early paleontologists, Marsh was interested in collecting evidence for the theory of evolution by natural selection, proposed by famed naturalist Charles Darwin in his 1859 landmark publication On the Origin of Species. By contrast, Cope was a supporter of Neo-Lamarckianism, which was the contemporary alternative to Darwin's evolutionary theory.

In 1868, Cope gave Marsh a tour of the fossil beds in Haddonfield where Cope's team had uncovered the Hadrosaurus specimen. The feud between the two men began several months later when, without Cope's consultation (or any other representatives of the Academy of Natural Sciences), Marsh hired fossil hunters to begin digging for specimens in Haddonfield.

The following year, Cope published a paper containing illustrations of a reconstructed marine reptile, called Elasmosaurus, in which he incorrectly mounted the animal's skull to the end of the tail rather than the neck. The flaw in Cope's reconstruction was quickly noticed by Marsh and Joseph Leidy, Cope's teacher and mentor. Cope attempted to purchase all copies of his manuscript to prevent his mistake from becoming public; Marsh, however, used the incident to humiliate Cope and published papers detailing Cope's flawed reconstruction.

The Western fossil fields: In 1870, Marsh and a team of students made the first fossil excursions to the American West, looking for fossils in several states, including Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Marsh became famous for his descriptions of the expedition, which he published in Harper's Weekly, a popular political magazine at the time. In 1872, Cope conducted his own fossil expedition to the Bridger Basin beds of southwestern Wyoming. The expedition angered Marsh, who felt he had exclusive claim to the territory. That same year, Leidy mounted an expedition to other fossil beds in the same area. All three men uncovered a variety of prehistoric mammals and reptiles and competed to be the first to name new species.

In their haste to outdo one another, the three men often renamed the same species several times, as their haste to outdo one another took precedence over scientific scrutiny. Cope and Marsh, in particular, became bitter rivals, publishing criticisms of one another in the pages of scientific journals, which included accusations of fraud and other ethical violations. Leidy abandoned his projects in Wyoming as a result of the increasing intensity of the Marsh–Cope rivalry. The lack of scientific scrutiny has led many historians to describe these so-called Bone Wars as both a game of one-upmanship and poor science.

Jurassic Fauna of the Morrison Formation: In 1877, amateur fossil hunter Arthur Lakes discovered the first dinosaur fossils from the Jurassic (which included sauropods) in Morrison, Colorado. Lakes notified Marsh and Cope, both of whom arrived in Colorado to conduct fossil excavations. Though both professors uncovered a wealth of dinosaur fossils, each also took steps to prevent the other from achieving greater or precedential discoveries. For example, Marsh was known to have used spies and coded messages to keep tabs on Cope and also ordered members of his fossil teams to destroy fossils they were unable to carry to prevent them from falling into Cope's possession.

Geological Surveys: In 1881, geologist John Wesley Powell was selected to head the U.S. Geological Survey department, a centralized branch intended to consolidate the numerous geological surveys underway at the time. Powell appointed his friend Marsh as chief paleontologist, a position which gave Marsh not only additional funding, but also the preeminence to determine the fate of government sponsorship for all paleontological expeditions.

Marsh used his position to prevent Cope from obtaining funding and by 1889, Cope was destitute and unemployed. In addition, Marsh attempted to take possession of Cope's fossil collection from the Philadelphia Academy, on the basis that government funding was used to partially fund Cope's expeditions. Cope prevented Marsh from taking possession of the bulk of his collection by using his detailed records to prove that he had personally funded most of his expeditions.

Soon after, Cope prompted journalists to publish a series of articles suggesting that Marsh and Powell were guilty of misusing government funding. Cope also accused Marsh of plagiarism and scientific fraud. Marsh and Powell published retorts, and the feud became front-page news across the country. However, the negative publicity convinced Congress to withdraw funding for the U.S. Geological Survey department. Marsh's position was abolished, and his funding gone. In a final blow, the Smithsonian Institution, using the same argument Marsh had earlier used against Cope, forced Marsh to relinquish any fossils collected using government funds. In the aftermath of the struggle, both men had spent most of their personal assets and were largely shunned in scientific circles.

Current Research and Implications

Reexamining the Bone Wars: In 2002, paleontologists working at the Morrison Natural History Museum used Arthur Lakes's original notes to locate and examine the fossil beds where the geologist and amateur fossil hunter first discovered remnants of Jurassic dinosaurs. Rumors at the time suggested that Marsh ordered Lakes and his men to dynamite fossil sites to prevent them from being discovered by Cope; however, in 2002 researchers found that Lakes had simply filled the dig sites with dirt and debris. The team believes that Lakes and Marsh circulated rumors of using dynamite to deter other paleontologists from attempting to excavate from the same location.

Paleontologist Robert Bakker and colleagues, working at the same site, also found that Lakes and colleagues failed to notice fossilized tree samples, indicating the type of vegetation that was present at the time that those sauropods (excavated by Lakes and Marsh) were deposited. Bakker found that the trees were woody species found a distance from water, indicating that Apatosaurus and other sauropods inhabited dry forest habitats.

At the time of their discovery, Marsh, Cope, and other paleontologists believed that, because of their size, sauropods were restricted to wet, swamp-like environments. Bakker's research at the site indicates that, if Marsh and Cope had taken a different approach to their research, they might have uncovered evidence allowing for a vastly different understanding of dinosaur behavior.

Bibliography

Books

Colbert, Edwin Harris. Great Dinosaur Hunters and Their Discoveries. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 1984.

• Introduction to the pioneering paleontologists in the United States and Europe including lists of species discovered. Also discusses the historical importance of many paleontological figures in the development of the field.

Fastovsky, David E., and David B. Weishampel. Dinosaurs: A Concise Natural History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

• Introductory text on dinosaur biology and behavior. Contains a synopsis of the major events in the Bone Wars, as well as a discussion of discoveries made by both Marsh and Cope and their effect on the field. Entries on various dinosaur species also contain information about the Bone Wars and early paleontological discoveries in the southwestern United States.

—. Evolution and Extinction of the Dinosaurs. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.

• Introductory text presenting historic and current research on dinosaur behavior, evolution, classification, and extinction theories. Chapter 6 contains a brief discussion of the Bone Wars and their importance in paleontological history.

Moring, John. Early American Naturalists. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publications, 2002.

• General interest book providing biographies and historical sketches of several famous naturalists in American history. Contains a discussion of the Bone Wars, along with biographical information on Marsh, Cope, Leidy, and several other prominent American paleontologists from the era.

Wallace, David Rains. Bonehunter's Revenge. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2000.

• Historical account of the feud between Cope and Marsh and of the scientific and sociological implications of the Bone Wars on paleontology and science in general. Contains detailed biographical information on a number of prominent paleontologists who played a role in the early era of American paleontology.

Journals

Benton, Michael J. “Fossil Quality and Naming Dinosaurs.” Biology Letters 4.6 (Dec. 2008): 729–32.

• Discussion of the practice and protocols involved in naming dinosaurs from fossils of differing quality. Contains a discussion of the paleontological processes and the naming conventions employed during the Bone Wars.

Rajewski, Genevieve. “Where Dinosaurs Roamed.” Smithsonian 39.2 (2008): 20.

• Articles discuss information uncovered from twenty-first century examinations of the Morrison fossil sites where digs were conducted by Marsh and Lakes. Also discusses the reality of fossil damage and other practices that occurred during the Bone Wars.

Taylor, Michael P. “Sauropod Dinosaur Research: A Historical Review.” Geological Society, London 343 (2010): 361–86.

• Overview of research on sauropods from the discovery of the first specimen to several examples of recent advances in the field. Contains a discussion of Cope and Marsh's discoveries and early paleontological misconceptions about the biology and behavior of sauropod dinosaurs.

Additional Works Used

Desmond, Adrian J. Hot Blooded Dinosaurs: A Revolution in Paleontology. New York: Doubleday, 1976.

Fiffer, Steve. Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest, Most Fought-over T. Rex Ever Found. New York: Macmillan, 2001.

Moring, John. Early American Naturalists. Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publications, 2002.

Rea, Tom. Bone Wars: The Excavation and Celebrity of Andrew Carnegie's Dinosaur. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004.

Wallace, David Rains. Bonehunter's Revenge. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2000.

Veatch, Steven W., and Herbert W. Meyer. “History of Paleontology at the Florrisant Fossil Beds, Colorado.” Geological Society of America Special Papers 435 (2008): 1–18.