A snapshot of Samuel Rhoads’ publications, drawings, and field notes (Image courtesy of Kim Custer at the Haddonfield Historical Society)

Thesis, thesis, thesis, thesis! 

Keep questioning,
Sara 

Image courtesy of Davidson, J. P. (2002). Bonehead mistakes: The background in scientific literature and illustrations for Edward Drinker Cope’s first restoration of Elasmosaurus platyurus. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Vol. 152, p. 220 (via JSTOR)

Fossil remains of Plesiosaurus macrocephalus, a large marine reptile similar to Elasmosaurus platyurus.

Bone Wars: The Cope-Marsh Rivalry - ANSP’s 200 Stories

Othniel Charles Marsh (left) and Edward Drinker Cope Ewell Sale Stewart Library & Archives coll. 457

The rivalry between brilliant paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh dominated American science during the second half of the 19th century. Marsh and Cope’s relationship soured when Cope showed off his fossil of Elasmosaurus, a large marine reptile from the Late Cretaceous period, and Marsh pointed out that the vertebrae (backbones) were oriented backwards. After a sharp exchange they agreed to have Academy curator Joseph Leidy decide who was right. Leidy promptly removed the head from one end and placed it on what Cope had thought was the tail. Afterwards, Cope frantically tried to collect all copies of a recently printed publication that contained his erroneous reconstruction. Leidy exposed the error and attempted cover-up at the next meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

The rivalry between Cope and Marsh went from bad to worse. Although their race to discover and name new species yielded many fossil discoveries, it drove both men to extremes. Cope’s rushed work was plagued by careless errors. Marsh often resorted to bribery and bullying in the pursuit of specimens. Their exchanges in print were filled with poisonous charges and countercharges of errors, distortions, and fraud. At first these exchanges were limited to scientific journals, but later they made their way to the newspapers.

The Bone Wars between Marsh and Cope became so intense that Joseph Leidy veered away from his studies of vertebrate paleontology of the West. Learn how Leidy continued to develop a prolific career in other areas. 

“The competition between Cope and Marsh marked an extraordinarily productive period in American paleontology. Together, these two men discovered and described more than 140 new species of fossil animals” (Getting to know Cope, ANSP, 2011)

Click here to see this story online at ANSP’s 200 Stories series!

An awesome rendering of naturalist, Titian Ramsey Peale (via Wikimedia Commons)

Adding this one to my file for the Academy. I spent some time talking to my thesis adviser this morning (thanks, Skype!) and have really kicked it into gear in terms of getting things done. Thank goodness for vacation time! I’m not usually the type to actually get things done during vacation, but I suppose there’s a time for everything!

Keep questioning,
Sara 

A snapshot of Dolan’s 1941 exhibit of specimens from the second expedition to China and Tibet (Ewell Sale Stewart Library, Coll. 64, Box #2, Folder #7)

Adding more to the thesis… I’ll finally be done the Google Earth file in a few days. I just need to carve out some time to dedicate to it.

The past few weeks have been rough. I have been trying to effectively manage my time, only to find that I have too little of it to spare for my thesis. My attention has been on my classes and part-time jobs, and I’ve been choosing to spend my scarce free time with family or simply relaxing.

As much as I love the Academy, it’s so hard for me to get there on a weekly basis, which has allowed my enthusiasm for the project to dwindle. Hopefully, as the semester winds down, I will be able to visit more, and knock out a huge chunk of the project. I need injections of motivation, especially as the excitement of winter vacation and the holidays is mounting….

Wish me luck & keep questioning,
Sara 

Mummy Mystery, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Fred Mullison, Michael S. Beers, Dr. Ted Daeschler, and Ned Gilmore (left to right) carefully remove the Akhmin mummy from the diorama. The other mummy, Petiese, is shown at the bottom.

She had been dead for 2,200 years, but that didn’t matter to Egyptologist Jonathan Elias. She still had a story to tell. In 2006, Elias asked the Academy’s permission to temporarily remove one of the two mummies—that of a teenaged girl—from a diorama on the second floor of the museum. He wanted to transport the mummy to a local hospital for a CAT scan to better understand how the girl lived and died. She most likely hailed from the prominent trading town of Akhmin, which Elias and his colleagues were studying to learn about the ancient culture of the Nile River community.

As soon as the museum closed at 4:30 pm one May day, members of the Academy’s Vertebrate Zoology and Exhibits Departments got to work. They donned gloves and surgical masks, carefully removed the diorama’s glass, gingerly stepped around another mummy (a high priest named Petiese) that was in front of it, and somehow lifted the Akhmin mummy out and onto a makeshift gurney padded with bubble wrap. She spent the night in a climate-controlled room in the Academy until the next morning when she was loaded into the back of a mini-van and slowly driven to Hahnemann Hospital for the CAT scan.

When you visit the mummy diorama today, you will see the teen is still AWOL. She is on loan to another museum for an exhibit. But Petiese is still patiently waiting for you to stop by and pay him tribute.

Marine Reptile or Ancient Whale?, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Detail of Plate XXII from Richard Harlan’s 1835 article on Basilosaurus in the Transactions of the Geological Society of Pennsylvania. The large figure at the top is a fragment of the upper jaw. Several damaged but still intact teeth are shown along the bottom left edge of the upper jaw.

Academy naturalist Richard Harlan published several reports in the 1830s on the incomplete fossil remains of a massive creature. Harlan believed the animal’s huge vertebrae (backbones) resembled those belonging to extinct marine reptiles that resided in Europe. The fragment of its upper jaw was hollow, which confirmed Harlan’s suspicion that the creature was a reptile. On the other hand, the few teeth on that jaw differed from one another, which suggested the creature was a mammal. Harlan was still convinced the animal was a marine reptile. He named it Basilosaurus, which means ruling lizard.

Some of Harlan’s American colleagues disagreed, including fellow Academy member Samuel George Morton who thought Basilosaurus was an ancient whale. On the other side of the Atlantic, there was a similar debate about the animal’s identity. Harlan went to England to present his case to the Geological Society of London. Prior to the meeting, he met with Richard Owen, one of the leading scientists of the day. They examined the fossils using the latest techniques, and Owen convinced Harlan that the form and microscopic anatomy of the teeth proved Basilosaurus was a whale. Owen renamed it Zeuglodon (yoked tooth), yet the animal is still known as Basilosaurus because Harlan’s name came first. Later discoveries of more complete fossils confirmed that the animal was a primitive whale that may have measured 70 feet in length.

Evolution at the Circus, ANSP’s 200 Stories

The letter from P. T. Barnum to Joseph Leidy requesting an evaluation of his new circus elephant, Jumbo. Ewell Sale Stewart Library & Archives coll. 1.

The Academy Archives contain close to 3,000 handwritten letters from individuals who sought the opinion of the Academy’s Dr. Joseph Leidy (1823–1891), the pre-eminent scientist of his time. Among the most legendary and unusual correspondents is circus showman P.T. Barnum. Barnum’s letter came about after his purchase of Jumbo, an elephant that he believed to be the largest in the world. While touring in Philadelphia, Barnum wrote to naturalist Leidy to request an evaluation of this extraordinary creature’s size.

Philadelphia
April 28, 1882
Prof. Leidy D[ea]r Sir,
I hope you will examine the Jumbo & write me to Arlington House Washington whether you think he is really an ordinary [or extraordinary] Elephant.
Truly,
P. T. Barnum

Barnum’s letter was newly revealed when Brooke Dolan Archivist Clare Flemming shared the collection of Leidy’s correspondence with scholar Brandon Zimmerman. Not satisfied with reading a list of signatories, the scholar asked to see the actual letters. He may have been the first to recognize the Barnum letter as having been written by the famous showman. A typo in the Academy’s Guide to Manuscripts listing the letter as belonging to “N.T. Barnum” may have caused other scholars to overlook Barnum’s letter.

Time for Tea, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Charles C. G. Chaplin (left) and Dr. James E. Böhlke examine a fish while working on Hog Island, Bahamas, 1956.

In the 1950s, active Academy supporter and fish enthusiast Charles C.G. Chaplin proposed undertaking an intensive study of the waters adjacent to his island home in the Bahamas. To help him, the Academy hired young ichthyologist James E. Böhlke, and the two formed an eight-year collaboration.

Each winter, Böhlke joined the Chaplins at their winter home where the men adhered to a strict daily schedule: early tea at 7 am on the porch, then a trip across the harbor to pick up the daily household workers, and then a substantial breakfast at 9 am. By mid-morning, they loaded the gear into the boat and left to collect. Regardless of their agenda, they returned to the house by 4:30 or 5 pm for tea. After tea, they processed and inspected the day’s catch and cleaned the boat and gear.

That’s Some Nerve!, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Commercially produced stereoview of Angelo Heilprin (center) and two “French gentlemen of Martinique” on the lower slope of Mont Pelée: Ewell Sale Stewart Library & Archives Coll. 147, Expedition no. 53.

When he first learned of the devastating 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée in Martinique, Academy geologist Angelo Heilprin (1853–1907) realized the importance of studying the seismic forces involved. He also wondered how having this knowledge could help geologists learn about future eruptions. He took the first steamer to the island and made his famous ascent of the active volcano. Despite falling rocks and the hazard of deadly gases, he remained in the vicinity for four hours. He returned to the summit a second time to record more data and to take photographs. His calm demeanor during this hazardous work won him praise and spread his fame as a fearless scientist throughout the world. American journalist George Kennan, who accompanied Heilprin on his first ascent, described him as “the nerviest and pluckiest man I ever knew.”

Three Heavy Fish, ANSP’s 200 Stories

One of the Endeavour cannons being hoisted onto the aft deck of the salvage boat: (Photography courtesy of James C. Tyler.)

“FOUND THREE HEAVY FISH AND TONS SINKERS REMAIN AT HOPE ISLAND CAMP”

Explorers based in Hope Island, Australia, near the Great Barrier Reef sent this cryptic telegram to two Australian officials on the night of January 12, 1969. That same night, Australian Governor General Richard Casey and Academy President H. Radclyffe Roberts received phone calls with identical information. The “tons sinkers” referred to the ballasts from an old sailing ship, and the “three heavy fish” were three 18th-century ship cannons. An Academy expedition had discovered the location where Captain James Cook’s H.M.B. Endeavour ran aground on the Reef in 1770. In a desperate effort to free the ship, Cook’s crew threw the ship’s cannons and ballasts overboard to lighten the load.

The 1969 expedition achieved its two goals: to survey and collect marine fish, and to discover the site where Cook ran aground and recover artifacts that remained. The salvage party included Virgil Kauffman, Alfred L. Wolf, Kenneth Myers, and Griscom Bettle. Kauffman and Wolf, both avid divers and active Academy supporters, provided most of the expedition’s financial backing. Myers operated the magnetometer that revealed the presence of the cast iron cannons, while Bettle assisted in diving operations. The scientists who collected several barrels of fishes, which represented more than 200 species, included James C. Tyler from the Academy’s Ichthyology Department and C. Lavett Smith from the American Museum of Natural History.

Crews recovered all six cannons, numerous ballasts, and the ship’s anchor. Five of the cannons were put on display in museums located in Australia, New Zealand, and England. You can see the sixth right here at the Academy!

Science Up Close, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Dr. Marina Potapova examines one of the German booklets in the Academy’s Diatom Herbarium.

Academy researchers are well-known in the science world for their explorations of diatoms, microscopic algae that are abundant in all aquatic habitats on Earth and produce approximately one-fifth of all organic matter on the planet. Scientists study diatom diversity to understand many things about the area in which the diatoms were collected, including rock age, climate changes over time, human land use, watershed modification, and water quality. Studying diatom diversity also can lead to the development of new uses for these organisms, including biofuel production and medications.

Here at the Academy Diatom Herbarium, we keep a series of little old booklets published in Germany between the 1830s and 60s. These booklets hold the key to the knowledge of diatom diversity. Instead of text and illustrations, the pages contain tiny, glued-in packages with pieces of aquatic plants, dried mud, or little specks of dust dried on glass. These specimens, which are used to describe certain species, are called “types.” When a contemporary researcher investigates a group of diatoms and suspects that some species have already been described, he or she takes a small portion of the type specimen and studies it using modern methods. This process helps distinguish species that have been described in the past from newly discovered species. The study of type specimens helps scientists reveal the true diversity of diatoms and find multiple applications for these resources.

Homeopathic Snake, ANSP’s 200 Stories

South American bushmaster specimen donated by Constantine Hering.

This snake is a South American bushmaster (Lachesis muta). This species is one of the largest and most dangerous pit vipers in the Western Hemisphere. This particular specimen also holds a special place in the history of homeopathy. It was donated to the Academy’s collections in 1830 by a corresponding member, Constantine Hering, who was stationed in the Dutch colony of Surinam. Hering, born and educated in the German kingdom of Saxony, immigrated to the United States in 1833 and soon became a driving force in the establishment of this form of alternative medicine. He helped found the Philadelphia Medical College of Homeopathy in 1848. (This institution would later become Hahnemann Hospital and then part of the Drexel University College of Medicine.)

This specimen is remarkable because it is the snake from which Hering extracted the venom he used to develop the homeopathic remedy called Lachesis. This remedy remains in wide use for a variety of ailments, especially those of the heart and circulatory system.

Birds in a Hurry, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Long-tailed Hermit (Phaethornis superciliosus): (Photo by Brian Gratwicke, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)

Anybody who has watched a hummingbird in flight knows that these amazing birds use a lot of energy. They zip and dart about, and while hovering, their wings can beat 20–25 times per second. Based on an extensive series of engineering studies on bird flight by Crawford H. Greenewalt, hummingbird flight is most efficient at 5.5­­–7.5 meters/second (or 12–16 mph). If they go any faster or any slower, the birds burn a lot of extra energy.

The Academy’s Dr. Frank B. Gill wanted to find out how fast these birds fly in the wild. In June 1982, he conducted a study of the long-tailed hermit (Phaethornis superciliosus) in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Many hummingbird species are territorial and will defend a patch of flowers, so it’s hard to measure their “normal” flight. But by estimating the time it takes for these birds to fly the 40 meters (131 feet) between two artificial flowers, Gill was able to record an average speed of 11.6 m/second (26 mph), which is nearly double hummingbirds’ most efficient speed!

Evolution in the air, ANSP’s 200 Stories

Title page for Leidy’s Flora and Fauna within Living Animals

Several historians have used the phrase “evolution was in the air” to describe the sentiment common among many naturalists and scientists during the first half of the 19th century. Evidence of the diversity of life in the tropics, the anatomical similarities among different groups of animals, and the succession of fossil forms over time challenged the idea of creation. Notable Europeans, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, proposed a variety of theories for evolutionary change or transmutation (the altering of one species into another).

In the United States, Academy naturalist Joseph Leidy discussed transmutation in the introduction to his 1853 monograph Flora and Fauna within Living Animals. He explained that “there appear to be but trifling steps from the oscillating particle of inorganic matter, to a Bacterium; from this to a Vibrio, thence to a Monas, and so gradually up to the highest orders of life!” His ideas were unpopular among some of his colleagues, yet six years later, widespread debate on the subject exploded with Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.