science · 12 April 1897 · 127 years ago
death
Died 12 Apr 1897 at age 56 (born 28 Jul 1840).
American paleontologist and prolific taxonomist of vertebrate paleontology. He was also active in ichthyology and herpetology. He was an evolutionist, and was one of the founders of the Neo- Lamarckian school of evolutionary thought. This school believed that changes in developmental (embryonic) timing, not natural selection, was the driving force of evolution. Cope thought that groups of species that shared similar developmental patterns could be grouped into more inclusive groups (i.e. genera, families, and so on). He led many natural history surveys in the American West for the precursors of the U.S. Geological Survey, making many important finds on his trips, including dinosaur discoveries in western North America.
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