Bone Wars: A Feud That Created And Almost Destroyed Paleontology

The Bone Wars began with the goal of discovery. Competition soon replaced that noble aim. Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh engaged in destructive actions as the contest grew intense. Both Cope and Marsh happily blew up dig sites if they would.They finished the sites quickly.They did this rather than risk the other finding something valuable. This meant entire dinosaur species never got found because these two felt their rivalry mattered more than saving prehistoric specimens.

One early fight in the Bone Wars happened in 1870. Cope found and reconstructed an Elasmosaurus specimen.He thought it was an Elasmosaurus specimen.Marsh publicly mocked Cope after learning Cope had accidentally put the Elasmosaurus skull at the tail end, thinking it was a giant snake dinosaur.Marsh wrote in a letter toThe New York Herald"When I told Professor Cope about it, his wounded pride took a hit he never recovered from, and he became my bitter enemy since."

Another paleontologist, Joseph Leidy, actually found out about this error.another esteemed paleontologist, Joseph Leidy,Cope tried to buy back and destroy the scientific journals holding his mistake. Leidy and Marsh worked to expose him.

The Bone Wars helped paleontology long-term, but they caused short-term messes. In their rush to claim new species and beat the other to the prize, both Marsh and Cope did sloppy work full of errors and inaccuracies.This often led them to accidentally, or maybe on purpose, "discover" creatures already found. Paleontologists needed decades to sort through all their mislabeled fossils. By the end of their careers, Marsh and Cope found 142 dinosaur types between them, but fewer than 40 still count as valid today.This often led them to accidentally, or maybe on purpose, "discover" creatures already found. Paleontologists needed decades to sort through all their mislabeled fossils. By the end of their careers, Marsh and Cope found 142 dinosaur types between them, but fewer than 40 still count as valid today.

In one bad case, Marsh thought he found a new species, calling it the Brontosaurus, but it wasjust another Apatosaurus., a species he already found. This error was notBy 1903, the "Brontosaurus" had already become a known dinosaur. This showed the Bone Wars going crazy. In a surprising turn, further study in 2015of Marsh’s supposed Brontosaurus showed big differences between that original specimen and the Apatosaurus species. This meant Brontosaurus existed, and Marsh was right all along.further study in 2015Marsh’s alleged Brontosaurus showed major differences from the Apatosaurus species. This proves Brontosaurus existed, and Marsh was correct.

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope often worked in the field early on. However, most of the Bone Wars happened through proxies.The Bone Wars were mostly carried out through proxies.Secret paleontology agents, including students, sent by Marsh and Cope across America sought dig sites and best fossils. These agents also worked to hide their actions and stay ahead of rivals. Marsh’s money and loose morals let his agents oftenGain an edge.through outright bribery; Cope also engaged in shady activity.

As the Bone Wars grew intense, the pair hired dinosaur rustlers to gain an edge over others. At theThe area was hotly contested.in Como Bluff, WY, CopeThey hired a prospector.to steal bones from Marsh’s site. This became the norm: dinosaur rustlers stole fossils, spied on digs, and pelted rivals with stones.On at least one occasion., guns were brandished, and the Bone Wars almost became a real war. Cooler heads stopped it; the bloodshed stayed theoretical.

Joseph Leidy, a respected paleontologist and mentor to Edward Cope, was involved.He discovered the first American dinosaur., a Hadrosaurus, in Haddonfield, NJ, in 1856. The Bone Wars started over ten years later when Cope joined the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences and began fossil hunting there by paying workers to dig and send bones to him. Othniel Marsh visited Haddonfield in 1868, and he was so impressed with the fossils there that hebribed some workersto send any interesting finds his way instead of to Cope. Cope found out, got furious, and the Bone Wars began.

Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope became lifelong rivals in paleontology, but they started their professional relationship onThey used friendlier terms.. The two met studying abroad in Berlin in 1864 and seemed impressed by each other. Early in their fossil hunting, both Cope and MarshThey named species after one another..

The two likely differed too much for a lasting friendship. Marsh grew up poor and got a large inheritance from his uncle to fund his career. He believed in Darwinism and paid close attention to detail from his humble background. Cope, however, came from a rich family and used a looser, flashier style for his research. He backed Neo-Lamarckism and became a professor despite little formal schooling.

The Bone Wars hurt both sides, but Edward Drinker Cope first felt the loss. After losing his government job and having to fund his fossil hunting with his shrinking inheritance, Cope foundHis life went in shambles.—by 1889, he lost his money, his wife, and his reputation. All Cope had left were his fossils; Othniel Charles Marsh still kept coming after him.

In the early 1880s, Marsh became head of the United States Geological Survey. He used that post to push a law. This law stated all fossils bought with government money became Smithsonian Museum property.The Smithsonian Museum would own the fossils.Edward Drinker Cope wanted to destroy his rival, Othniel Marsh, because Marsh still tried to steal his fossils despite being broke. Congress investigated the U.S. Geological Survey's illegal actions in 1884. Cope published something in 1890.

Edward Drinker Cope sought to destroy Othniel Marsh's reputation after Marsh tried to steal his fossils despite his poverty. Congress investigated the U.S. Geological Survey's possible illegal actions in 1884, and Cope published in 1890.Marsh was asked to resign. His lack of records sealed his fate.Marsh kept few records of who paid for his huge fossil collection. Because of this, the law Marsh created to target Cope made his collection belong to the Smithsonian. Marsh lost many fossils. Cope won in the decades-long Bone Wars.

Marsh faced resignation, and his missing records sealed his fate.Cope and Marsh constantly attacked each other in journals. They pointed out each other's mistakes while defending their own claims. They often tried to rename creatures the other already claimed, including a memorable episode.Marsh kept few records showing who paid for his huge fossil collection. This meant his collection belonged to the Smithsonian, according to the law Marsh himself made against Cope. Marsh lost much of his fossils; Cope won the long Bone Wars.

When railroad expansion opened the American West in the 1870s, it offered new chances for fossil hunters. Marsh and Cope raced to grab this new frontier. Paleontology professors sent staff to Wyoming and Colorado to find new species before their rival.These new areas proved good for paleontology. They uncovered significant finds, such as the Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus. Competition between Marsh and Cope caused questionable science during all the discoveries.Cope and Marsh constantly attacked each other, pointing out errors in the other's claims while defending their own. They often tried to rename creatures the other had already named, includingThis was a memorable episode.Cope, Marsh, and Joseph Leidy each used different names for the same dinosaur they found independently. They argued over these names using academic proof.

Railroad expansion opened the American West in the 1870s, creating new chances for fossil hunters.Marsh and Coperaced to seize this new frontier. Paleontology professors sent staff to places like Wyoming and Colorado, aiming to find new species before their rival. These new areas offered good ground for paleontology, yieldingmajor findsfossils like the Triceratops, Stegosaurus, and Allosaurus. Paleontology grew, but the fierce competition between Marsh and Cope caused some questionable science among the discoveries.

Othniel Charles Marsh’s strategy to win the Bone Wars was usually rather simple—he used his financial backing to outbid Edward Drinker Cope by any means necessary. In fact, Marsh became so well-known for his use of bribery that others in the fossil trade began to Union Pacific Railroad employees in Como Bluff, WY, found fossils in the late 1870s. They contacted Marsh with a sale offer, falsely suggesting they were also negotiating with Cope, which made Marsh offer extra-generous terms.. When some Union Pacific Railroad employees in Como Bluff, WY, discovered a treasure trove of fossils in the late 1870s, they contacted Marsh with an offer to sell, but (falsely) hinted that they were also negotiating with Cope—causing Marsh to pony up some extra-generous terms.

Edward Drinker Cope had the early advantage in the Bone Wars. In the early 1870s, Cope won a plum position with the U.S. Geological Survey that allowed him to search for bones in the West as it was being surveyed for the first time—literally hunting for fossils on the American frontier. Cope seemed determined to document and claim credit for as many species as possible while he had the lead, and this angered a number of other contemporary paleontologists, including Joseph Leidy and, more importantly, Othniel Charles Marsh. Marsh countered this by hiring men to infiltrate Cope's expeditions and send fossils to him instead of Cope.

Although Othniel Marsh grew up poor, he benefited from the generosity of a wealthy uncle, philanthropist George Peabody. Uncle Peabody founded Museum of Natural Science at Yale University, and it was no coincidence that Marsh received his first academic position there soon after. The financial aid of his uncle, who funded many of his studies, along with the connections he provided, helped Marsh keep up with Edward Cope, who had grown up in a privileged household and received a large inheritance of his own.

In addition to his position at Yale, Marsh continued to get breaks as his career progressed. In the 1880s, he became the head of the U.S. Geological Survey, which allowed him to intensify his fossil-hunting endeavors.

Ultimately, neither Othniel Charles Marsh nor Edward Drinker Cope can be said to have truly won the Bone Wars. On the whole, Marsh discovered more species, but both men died destitute and with a less-than-stellar scientific reputation. Their own hubris and hunger for victory led them to reach beyond their means, and although they discovered a number of significant dinosaur species, today they’re more well-known for their feuding.

If anyone won the Bone Wars, it’s Joseph Leidy. After Marsh and Cope's conflict caused him to bow out of dinosaur-hunting altogether, Leidy ended up branching out into other prehistoric fields, discovering more than 100 protozoans and 300 invertebrates. Another winner of the Bone Wars was the Smithsonian Institution, which acquired a seriously impressive fossil collection thanks to Marsh and Cope.

The Bone Wars should have concluded when Edward Drinker Cope died in 1897, but Cope couldn’t pass on without taking one last parting shotCope asked his rival, Othniel Charles Marsh, to remove and weigh his brain as one of his last requests. Cope invited Marsh to do the same upon his death, betting his brain would weigh more than Marsh's, proving Cope's superior intelligence. Marsh refused. When Marsh died in 1899, the Bone Wars ended.