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The Great Bone Wars of Cañon City began, oddly enough, with a man who was here visiting from Ohio.
The Great Bone Wars of Cañon City began, oddly enough, with a man who was here visiting from Ohio.
Oramel Lucas was a student at Oberlin College, and he came out to Cañon City to take a break from his studies and collect fossils.
Oramel Lucas was a student at Oberlin College, and he came out to Cañon City to take a break from his studies and collect fossils.
I know. Sounds good, right?
Well, luck would have it, Oramel found some dinosaur bones just a few miles north of Cañon City,
Well, luck would have it, Oramel found some dinosaur bones just a few miles north of Cañon City,
and he wrote home to his professor at Oberlin. Now, if I had been that professor,
I would have been so excited I would have been out here before I even got the letter -
but sometimes excitement just isn't enough, and they didn't have enough money to send an expedition.
but sometimes excitement just isn't enough, and they didn't have enough money to send an expedition.
So Oramel went to Plan B, and he wrote to both Marsh and Cope about the bones.
Now, Marsh was too slow, but Cope was rewarded for his speedy response.
Now, Marsh was too slow, but Cope was rewarded for his speedy response.
He hired both Oramel and his brother Ira to dig for bones.
The result was the first dinosaur quarry at Cañon City.
The result was the first dinosaur quarry at Cañon City.
Incidentally, if you want to know more about the Lucases, you can check out their geneology here, at the Dinosaur Depot Museum.
Incidentally, if you want to know more about the Lucases, you can check out their geneology here, at the Dinosaur Depot Museum.
Let's check out the quarries now, starting with the Cope-Lucas Quarry.
Let's check out the quarries now, starting with the Cope-Lucas Quarry.
The dinosaur quarries of Garden Park are located along the Gold Belt Scenic Byway, not far from the Dinosaur Depot Museum.
The dinosaur quarries of Garden Park are located along the Gold Belt Scenic Byway, not far from the Dinosaur Depot Museum.
The Cope Quarry, which actually consists of 15 smaller quarries, is the most difficult to reach, but it's the easiest to see from far away.
The Cope Quarry, which actually consists of 15 smaller quarries, is the most difficult to reach, but it's the easiest to see from far away.
The long distance view of the area consists of three parts.
Those flatbeds on either side are known as forts. There's a north fort and a south fort.
That point in the middle is called Cope's ***.
From these quarries came some truly fantastic skeletons,
especially the carnivorous Allosaurus and the type specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Camarasaurus.
You see, a type specimen is like the encyclopedia of the biological world.
You see, a type specimen is like the encyclopedia of the biological world.
It defines the species and gives scientists something to look at for reference when making identifications,
It defines the species and gives scientists something to look at for reference when making identifications,
so it's really important to science.
Ryder drew an illustration of Cope's Camarasaurus and presented it to the public in Philadelphia,
but the really cool thing about this drawing was that it was life-sized.
but the really cool thing about this drawing was that it was life-sized.
but the really cool thing about this drawing was that it was life-sized.
It really gave people of the time, many of whom who had never seen a dinosaur before, a really dramatic first impression.
It really gave people of the time, many of whom who had never seen a dinosaur before, a really dramatic first impression.
It really gave people of the time, many of whom who had never seen a dinosaur before, a really dramatic first impression.
This copy is only one-quarter the size of Cope's original, which was 60 feet long.
This copy is only one-quarter the size of Cope's original, which was 60 feet long.
But the most exciting discovery at Cope's Quarries was when the men unearthed a fossil of truly incredible proportions.
But the most exciting discovery at Cope's Quarries was when the men unearthed a fossil of truly incredible proportions.
The bone, a single vertebra, was larger than a fully grown man.
The dinosaur it belonged to would have been almost 200 feet long,
dwarfing the record-holding Diplodocus hallorum and Supersaurus by almost 85 feet.
This massive creature was dubbed "Amphicoelias fragillimus",
which means "doubly hollow and very fragile", referring to the nature of the bones collected.
Maybe giving the dinosaur this name was a bad omen.
Paleontologist Ken Carpenter explains...
I'm standing next to the reconstructed vertebrae of Amphicoelias fragillimus. It's over 8 feet tall.
I'm standing next to the reconstructed vertebrae of Amphicoelias fragillimus. It's over 8 feet tall.
This reconstruction is based on a description by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877 of just this upper part,
This reconstruction is based on a description by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877 of just this upper part,
This reconstruction is based on a description by Edward Drinker Cope in 1877 of just this upper part,
but using the dimensions, we were in fact able to reconstruct the entire vertebrae,
just to give us some idea of what it might have looked like.
Now, the big question is, what happened to the original?
Now, the big question is, what happened to the original?
It's been lost for... ever since Cope's description, and in fact, if it wasn't for the description, we'd have no evidence of this fossil at all.
It's been lost for... ever since Cope's description, and in fact, if it wasn't for the description, we'd have no evidence of this fossil at all.
It's been lost for... ever since Cope's description, and in fact, if it wasn't for the description, we'd have no evidence of this fossil at all.
I suspect that at the time, since they weren't using any kind of perservatives to harden up fossil bones, since it's so fragile,
I suspect that at the time, since they weren't using any kind of perservatives to harden up fossil bones, since it's so fragile,
is that when it was shipped back east and Cope made some illustrations,
they probably tried to rotate the bones in order to illustrate more of it, and I suspect at that point it fell apart.
they probably tried to rotate the bones in order to illustrate more of it, and I suspect at that point it fell apart.
they probably tried to rotate the bones in order to illustrate more of it, and I suspect at that point it fell apart.
Now, why would I think that? Well, it turned out that in 1995,
we had excavated some bones not too far from where this came from.
We brought it back to our museum,
and those bones were so fragile that when I actually moved one of them, a good chunk of it fell apart in pieces.
and those bones were so fragile that when I actually moved one of them, a good chunk of it fell apart in pieces.
I think the species name is kind of a clue. It's called "fragillimus" because the bones were very fragile.
I think the species name is kind of a clue. It's called "fragillimus" because the bones were very fragile.
And I suspected that the specimen actually fell apart, and they ended up throwing it away.
And I suspected that the specimen actually fell apart, and they ended up throwing it away.
And I suspected that the specimen actually fell apart, and they ended up throwing it away.
This and the other famous dinosaurs found here were enough to insight the jealousy of Cope's archrival, Othniel Charles Marsh.
This and the other famous dinosaurs found here were enough to insight the jealousy of Cope's archrival, Othniel Charles Marsh.
He opened up his own quarries here, and the Bone Wars were on.