Innovations | Science Invention

The Great Dinosaur Rush

Credit: Henry Fairfield Osborn/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
An Allosaurus skeleton was just one of many discoveries made by Edward Drinker Cope at Como Bluff, Wyoming.
An argument over dinosaur bones-coupled with the faulty reconstruction of a dinosaur skeleton-fueled an intense rivalry known as the "Bone Wars."

The Great Dinosaur Rush, or the "Bone Wars" was the result of a bitter rivalry between paleontologists: Edward Drinker Cope and O.C. Marsh. The feud began when Marsh criticized a reconstruction done by Cope of a large prehistoric marine reptile. Marsh was proved right. From that point on, the men engaged in an acrimonious rivalry that carried over into fossil hunting expeditions in the Great Plains. Both scientists, in their race to uncover new fossil specimens, resorted to extreme measures, including bullying and bribery. By 1877, the stakes had risen dramatically with the discovery of large fossil remains in Colorado and Wyoming. Until then, dinosaur discoveries tended to be small and poorly preserved. But Cope and Marsh now found evidence of truly large creatures-brontosaurs, stegosaurs, and allosaurs-that revolutionized the field of paleontology. In spite of their rivalry, or because of it, the American public began its long love affair with dinosaurs.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Given the nature of Cope and Marsh's rivalry, it was common practice to have armed helpers during archaeological digs to prevent theft from each other's work sites.

 

Credit: Mathew Brady or Levin Corbin Handy/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Marsh came from more humble circumstances. He was an introvert and known for his more methodical approach to paleontology.

 

Credit: O.C. Marsh/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
One of Marsh's significant discoveries was that of a Stegosaurus. Discoveries like these by Marsh and Cope heightened American's interest in dinosaurs.