Ermine Cowles Case
Encyclopedia
Ermine Cowles Case invariably known as E.C. Case, was a prominent American paleontologist in the second generation that succeeded Othniel Charles Marsh
and Edward Drinker Cope
. A graduate of the University of Kansas
, with a PhD from the University of Chicago
(1896), Case became a paleontologist of international stature while working at the University of Michigan
.
Case began by sorting out some of the taxonomic
synonymies and other puzzles created by the "Bone Wars
" of the two giants of the heroic age of dinosaur
-hunting in the American West, in a series of three monographs dealing with the vertebrates of the Permian or Permo-Carboniferous of North America. Case then turned to his life-long interest in filling in the fossil record of Permian
and Carboniferous
vertebrate
s from the 'red beds' of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. He also made extensive Jurassic
collections at Como Bluff
, Wyoming, in the Cretaceous
deposits in Kansas, and Cenozoic formations of the Green River Basin and the Badlands of South Dakota
. Among Cope's prolific output several great monographs about Permo-Carboniferous vertebrates stand out: Revision of the Amphibia and Pisces of the Permian of North America (1911)), The Permo-Carboniferous Red Reds of North America and their Vertebrate Fauna (1915), The Environment of Vertebrate Life in the Late Paleozoic in North America, a paleographic study (1919) and Environment of Tetrapod Life in the Late Paleozoic of Regions Other than North America (1926). All were published by the Carnegie Institution, Washington DC.
Case was a gifted teacher. The Ermine Cowles Case Collegiate Professor of Paleontology is an endowed chair at the University of Michigan, which conserves Case's extensive collections. The Ermine Cowles Case Memorial Lecture is given there annually.
Othniel Charles Marsh
Othniel Charles Marsh was an American paleontologist. Marsh was one of the preeminent scientists in the field; the discovery or description of dozens of news species and theories on the origins of birds are among his legacies.Born into a modest family, Marsh was able to afford higher education...
and Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope
Edward Drinker Cope was an American paleontologist and comparative anatomist, as well as a noted herpetologist and ichthyologist. Born to a wealthy Quaker family, Cope distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper at the age of nineteen...
. A graduate of the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
, with a PhD from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
(1896), Case became a paleontologist of international stature while working at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
.
Case began by sorting out some of the taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
synonymies and other puzzles created by the "Bone Wars
Bone Wars
The Bone Wars, also known as the "Great Dinosaur Rush", refers to a period of intense fossil speculation and discovery during the Gilded Age of American history, marked by a heated rivalry between Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh...
" of the two giants of the heroic age of dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
-hunting in the American West, in a series of three monographs dealing with the vertebrates of the Permian or Permo-Carboniferous of North America. Case then turned to his life-long interest in filling in the fossil record of Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
and Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s from the 'red beds' of Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. He also made extensive Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
collections at Como Bluff
Como Bluff
Como Bluff is a long ridge extending east-west, located between the towns of Rock River and Medicine Bow, Wyoming. The ridge is an anticline, formed as a result of compressional geological folding. Three geological formations, the Sundance, the Morrison, and the Cloverly Formations, containing...
, Wyoming, in the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
deposits in Kansas, and Cenozoic formations of the Green River Basin and the Badlands of South Dakota
Badlands National Park
Badlands National Park, in southwest South Dakota, United States preserves of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles, and spires blended with the largest protected mixed grass prairie in the United States....
. Among Cope's prolific output several great monographs about Permo-Carboniferous vertebrates stand out: Revision of the Amphibia and Pisces of the Permian of North America (1911)), The Permo-Carboniferous Red Reds of North America and their Vertebrate Fauna (1915), The Environment of Vertebrate Life in the Late Paleozoic in North America, a paleographic study (1919) and Environment of Tetrapod Life in the Late Paleozoic of Regions Other than North America (1926). All were published by the Carnegie Institution, Washington DC.
Case was a gifted teacher. The Ermine Cowles Case Collegiate Professor of Paleontology is an endowed chair at the University of Michigan, which conserves Case's extensive collections. The Ermine Cowles Case Memorial Lecture is given there annually.