186-527: Lepomis purpurescens Cope , 1870 The bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, as is common in Texas , "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish , native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands east of the Rocky Mountains . It is the type species of the genus Lepomis (true sunfish), from
372-399: A terminal mouth , ctenoid scales, and a lateral line that is arched upward anteriorly. The bluegill typically ranges in size from about 4 to 12 inches (100–300 mm), and reaches a maximum size just over 16 inches (410 mm). The largest bluegill ever caught was 4 lb 12 oz (2.2 kg) in 1950. The bluegill is most closely related to the orangespotted sunfish and
558-561: A writing system , built huge pyramids and temples , had a complex calendar , and developed the concept of zero around 400 CE. The first recorded European references to North America are in Norse sagas where it is referred to as Vinland . The earliest verifiable instance of pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact by any European culture with the North America mainland has been dated to around 1000 CE. The site , situated at
744-478: A "partial suicide". When Cope returned to Philadelphia in 1864, his family made every effort to secure him a teaching post as the Professor of Zoology at Haverford College , a small Quaker school where the family had philanthropic ties. The college awarded him an honorary master's degree so he could have the position. Cope even began to think about marriage and consulted his father in the matter, telling him of
930-639: A Creator. He became one of the founders of the Neo-Lamarckism school of thought, which holds that an individual can pass on traits acquired in its lifetime to offspring. Although the view has been shown incorrect, it was the prevalent theory among paleontologists in Cope's time. In 1887, Cope published his own "Origin of the Fittest: Essays in Evolution", detailing his views on the subject. He
1116-410: A balance between food abundance and predator abundance. Bluegill use gill rakers and bands of small teeth to ingest their food. During summer months, bluegills generally consume 3.2 percent of their body weight each day. To capture prey, bluegills use a suction system in which they accelerate water into their mouth. Prey comes in with this water. Only a limited amount of water is able to be suctioned, so
1302-421: A biography of her father, titled Cope: Master Naturalist . She would not comment on the name of the woman with whom her father had had an affair prior to his first European travel. Julia is believed to have burned any of the scandalous letters and journals Cope had kept, but many of his friends were able to give their recollections of the scandalous nature of some of Cope's unpublished routines. Charles R. Knight ,
1488-407: A command center for the escape response and respond quickly once the neural pathway has been activated by an initial stimulus. The cells trigger a contraction of muscle that bends the fish body into a 'C' to then aid in the propulsion away from a predator. The C-start trajectory is highly variable, allowing the fish to alter its escape response each time. Because of this high variability, predators have
1674-520: A field hospital, but in letters to his father later on in the war, this aspiration seemed to disappear; instead he considered working in the American South to assist freed African Americans. Davidson suggests Cope's correspondence with Leidy and Ferdinand Hayden , who worked as field surgeons during the war, might have informed Cope of the horrors of the occupation. Edward was involved in a love affair; his father did not approve. Whether Edward or
1860-405: A final challenge to Marsh at his death: he had his skull donated to science so his brain could be measured, hoping his brain would be larger than that of his adversary; at the time, brain size was thought to be the true measure of intelligence. Marsh never accepted the challenge. Osborn listed Cope's cause of death as uremic poisoning, combined with a large prostate, but the true cause of death
2046-513: A former friend called, "Cope's mouth the filthiest, from hearsay that in [Cope's] heyday no woman was safe within five miles of him." As Julia was the major financier behind The Master Naturalist , she wanted to keep her father's name in good standing and refused to comment on any misdeeds her father might have committed. Cope was described by zoologist Henry Weed Fowler as "a man of medium height and build, but always impressive with his great energy and activity". To him, Fowler wrote, "[Cope]
SECTION 10
#17327872324562232-456: A gentleman farmer, which he considered a wholesome profession that would yield enough profit to lead a comfortable life, and improve the undersized Edward's health. Until 1863, Cope's letters to his father continually expressed his yearning for a more professional scientific career than that of a farmer, which he called "dreadfully boring". While working on farms, Edward continued his education on his own. In 1858, he began working part-time at
2418-552: A great collection of fossils from Argentina. Cope never found time to describe the collection and many of the boxes remained unopened until his death. Cope's relations with Marsh turned into a competition for fossils between the two, known today as the Bone Wars . The conflict's seeds began upon the men's return to the United States in the 1860s, although Cope named Colosteus marshii for Marsh in 1867, and Marsh returned
2604-602: A job recataloging the herpetological collection at the Academy of Natural Sciences, where he became a member at Leidy's urging. Cope visited the Smithsonian Institution on occasion, where he became acquainted with Spencer Baird , who was an expert in the fields of ornithology and ichthyology. In 1861, he published his first paper on Salamandridae classification; over the next five years he published primarily on reptiles and amphibians. Cope's membership in
2790-759: A larger allowance show he was able to manipulate his father, and he was, according to author and Cope biographer Jane Davidson, "a bit of a spoiled brat". His letters suggest he was lonely at the school—it was the first time he had been away from his home for an extended period. Otherwise, Edward's studies progressed much like a typical boy—he consistently had "less than perfect" or "not quite satisfactory" marks for conduct from his teachers, and did not work hard on his penmanship lessons, which may have contributed to his often-illegible handwriting as an adult. Edward returned to Westtown in 1855, accompanied by two of his sisters. Biology began to interest him more that year, and he studied natural history texts in his spare time. While at
2976-632: A life force that propelled organisms toward even higher levels of consciousness." Cope's views on human races and sex were influenced by his Lamarckian beliefs, which posited those of European ancestry as more highly evolved than nonwhite groups. In his essays on evolution, he assessed the physiognomies of three "sub-species of human" — termed the Negro, the Mongolian, and the Indo-European — in comparison to those of apes and human embryos, and drew
3162-410: A long neck—he commented that the fossil's head was on the wrong end, evidently stating that Cope had put the skull at the end of the vertebrae of the tail. Cope was outraged and the two argued for some time until they agreed to have Leidy examine the bones and determine who was right. Leidy came, picked up the head of the fossil and put it on the other end. Cope was horrified since he had already published
3348-579: A lover than companion, declaring, "her amiability and domestic qualities generally, her capability of taking care of a house, etc., as well as her steady seriousness weigh far more with me than any of the traits which form the theme of poets!" Cope's family approved of his choice, and the marriage took place in July 1865 at Pim's farmhouse in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The two had a single daughter, Julia Biddle Cope, born June 10, 1866. Cope's return to
3534-401: A lower chance of learning a successful predation technique to capture the fish. The C-start escape response produces other advantages, including the ability to move quickly and unpredictably to capture prey. Hydrodynamically, the bluegill exhibits specific flow patterns that accompany its C-start escape response. The caudal (tail) fin is a main source of momentum in typical kinematic models of
3720-531: A most amusing manner with some small street urchin who had drifted into the museum and was watching in awe with eyes and mouth wide open." His self-taught nature, however, meant that he was largely hostile to bureaucracy and politics. He had a famous temper; one friend called Cope a "militant paleontologist". Despite his faults, he was generally well liked by his contemporaries. American paleontologist Alfred Romer wrote that, "[Cope's] little slips from virtue were those we might make ourselves, were we bolder". Cope
3906-564: A paper of his analysis of six brains at the American Anthropometric Society, including Cope's with additional analysis of Cope's skull. In 1993, the American photographer Louie Psihoyos loaned Cope's skull and prominently incorporated it into his book Hunting Dinosaurs (1994). Psihoyos and his assistant, John Knoebber, traveled around America with Cope's skull, taking pictures of the skull in different places on
SECTION 20
#17327872324564092-636: A paper on the fossil with the error at the American Philosophical Society. He immediately tried to buy back the copies, but some remained with their buyers (Marsh and Leidy kept theirs). The whole ordeal might have passed easily enough had Leidy not exposed the cover-up at the next society meeting, not to alienate Cope, but only in response to Cope's brief statement where he never admitted he was wrong. Cope and Marsh would never talk to each other amicably again, and by 1873, open hostility had broken out between them. The rivalry between
4278-664: A period of mountain building called the Laramide orogeny , between 80 and 55 mya. The formation of the Isthmus of Panama that connected the continent to South America arguably occurred approximately 12 to 15 mya, and the Great Lakes (as well as many other northern freshwater lakes and rivers) were carved by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago. North America is the source of much of what humanity knows about geologic time periods. The geographic area that would later become
4464-590: A powerful earthquake killed seven people in 2009. Volcanic eruptions are common in the region. In 1968, the Arenal Volcano , in Costa Rica, erupted and killed 87 people. Fertile soils from weathered volcanic lavas have made it possible to sustain dense populations in agriculturally productive highland areas. Central America has many mountain ranges ; the longest are the Sierra Madre de Chiapas ,
4650-1050: A record that is rivaled by few other scientists. His major works include three volumes: On the Origin of Genera (1867), The Vertebrata of the Tertiary Formations of the West (1884) and "Essays in Evolution". He discovered a total of 56 new dinosaur species during the Bone Wars compared to Marsh's 80. Although Cope is today known as a herpetologist and paleontologist, his contributions extended to ichthyology, in which he cataloged 300 species of fishes and described over 300 species of reptiles over three decades. In total, he discovered and described over 1,000 species of fossil vertebrates and published 600 separate titles. One species of Caribbean snake, Liophis juliae , he named in honor of his daughter Julia. The salamander Dicamptodon copei Nussbaum , 1970 ,
4836-581: A regular pattern of summers spent prospecting and winters writing up his findings from 1871 to 1879. Throughout the decade, Cope traveled across the West, exploring rocks of the Eocene in 1872 and the Titanothere Beds of Colorado in 1873. In 1874, Cope was employed with the Wheeler Survey , a group of surveys led by George Montague Wheeler that mapped parts of the United States west of
5022-515: A resurgence in his career toward the end of his life before dying on April 12, 1897. Though Cope's scientific pursuits nearly bankrupted him, his contributions helped to define the field of American paleontology. He was a prodigious writer with 1,400 papers published over his lifetime, although his rivals debated the accuracy of his rapidly published works. He discovered, described, and named more than 1,000 vertebrate species, including hundreds of fishes and dozens of dinosaurs. His proposal for
5208-415: A single bluegill population may eat up to six times its own weight in just one summer. However, certain species of bluegill can become overpopulated and overrun a pond's ecosystem if not managed properly. Pond owners typically control the bluegill population by handfishing and trapping of the fish to control population size. Edward Drinker Cope Edward Drinker Cope (July 28, 1840 – April 12, 1897)
5394-402: A six-page obituary by editor J. S. Kingsley , and a two-page remembrance by Frazer. The National Academy of Sciences' official memoir was submitted years later and written by Osborn. The American Journal of Science devoted six paragraphs to Cope's passing, and incorrectly gave his age as 46. Cope was outlived by his rival Marsh, who was suffering poor health. Julia assisted Osborn in writing
5580-439: A substance based on formaldehyde used to preserve specimens. Osborn was horrified by Cope's actions and made arrangements for surgery, but the plans were put on hold after a temporary improvement in Cope's health. Cope went to Virginia looking for fossils, became ill again, and returned to his home very weak. Osborn visited Cope on April 5, inquiring about Cope's health, but the sick paleontologist pressed his friend for his views on
5766-534: A teaching position for field work. He made regular trips to the American West , prospecting in the 1870s and 1880s, often as a member of U.S. Geological Survey teams. A personal feud between Cope and paleontologist Othniel Charles Marsh led to a period of intense fossil-finding competition now known as the Bone Wars . Cope's financial fortunes soured after failed mining ventures in the 1880s, forcing him to sell off much of his fossil collection. He experienced
Bluegill - Misplaced Pages Continue
5952-540: A variety of reactions, including curiosity, trading, cooperation, resignation, and resistance. The indigenous population declined substantially following European arrival, primarily due to the introduction of Eurasian diseases, such as smallpox , to which the indigenous peoples lacked immunity, and because of violent conflicts with Europeans. Indigenous culture changed significantly and their affiliation with political and cultural groups also changed. Several linguistic groups died out , and others changed quite quickly. On
6138-477: A vertebra and a humerus bone of some gigantic saurian." While Lakes sent Marsh some 1,500 pounds of bone, he also sent Cope some of the specimens. Marsh published his finds first, and having been paid $ 100 for the finds Lakes wrote to Cope that the samples should be forwarded to Marsh. Cope was offended by the slight. Meanwhile, Cope received bones from school superintendent O.W. Lucas in March 1877 from Cañon City ;
6324-405: A volume on Tertiary vertebrates, but was continually turned down. Rather than work with Powell and the survey, Cope tried to inflame sentiment against them. At Marsh's urging, Powell pushed for Cope to return specimens he had unearthed during his employment under the government surveys. This was an outrage to Cope, who had used his own money while working as a volunteer. In response, Cope went to
6510-552: A young man, Cope read Charles Darwin 's Voyage of a Naturalist , which had little effect on him. The only comment about Darwin's book recorded by Cope was that Darwin discussed "too much geology" from the account of his voyage. Due to his background in taxonomy and paleontology, Cope focused on evolution in terms of changing structure, rather than emphasizing geography and variation within populations as Darwin had. Over his lifetime, Cope's views on evolution shifted. His early views held that while Darwin's natural selection may affect
6696-665: Is a very large continent that extends from north of the Arctic Circle to south of the Tropic of Cancer . Greenland, along with the Canadian Shield , is tundra with average temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 °C (50 to 68 °F), but central Greenland is composed of a very large ice sheet. This tundra radiates throughout Canada, but its border ends near the Rocky Mountains (but still contains Alaska) and at
6882-541: Is also occasionally used as bait for larger game fish species, such as blue catfish , flathead catfish and largemouth bass . Fishermen are sometimes able to use polarized sunglasses to see through water and find bluegills' spawning beds. Bluegill have a rather bold character; many have no fear of humans, eating food directly dropped into the water, and a population in Canada 's Lake Scugog will even allow themselves to be stroked by human observers. Because of their size and
7068-524: Is an ancient craton which forms the geologic core of North America; it formed between 1.5 and 1.0 billion years ago during the Proterozoic eon. The Canadian Shield is the largest exposure of this craton. From the Late Paleozoic to Early Mesozoic eras, North America was joined with the other modern-day continents as part of the supercontinent Pangaea , with Eurasia to its east. One of
7254-546: Is in present-day Panama at the Darien Gap on the Colombia -Panama border, placing almost all of Panama within North America. Alternatively, some geologists physiographically locate its southern limit at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec , Mexico, with Central America extending southeastward to South America from this point. The Caribbean islands, or West Indies, are considered part of North America. The continental coastline
7440-648: Is long and irregular. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest body of water indenting the continent, followed by Hudson Bay . Others include the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Gulf of California . Before the Central American isthmus formed, the region had been underwater. The islands of the West Indies delineate a submerged former land bridge , which had connected North and South America via what are now Florida and Venezuela . There are several islands off
7626-527: Is not just the reversal of forward swimming. The fish utilizes its pectoral fins to provide a rhythmic beat while the dorsal and anal fins produce momentum to drive the fish backwards. The pectoral fins' rhythmic beat is asymmetric and aids the fish's balance in its slow, backward movement. The bluegill, amongst a wide array of other fishes, exhibits the C-start escape response , which is generated by large neurons called Mauthner cells . Mauthner cells operate as
Bluegill - Misplaced Pages Continue
7812-561: Is part of North America geographically. In a geologic sense, Bermuda is not part of the Americas, but an oceanic island that was formed on the fissure of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge over 100 million years ago (mya). The nearest landmass to it is Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . However, Bermuda is often thought of as part of North America, especially given its historical, political and cultural ties to Virginia and other parts of
7998-422: Is scarce, bluegill will also feed on aquatic vegetation and algae , and if scarce enough, will even feed on their own eggs or offspring. As bluegill spend a great deal of time near the surface of water, they can also feed on surface bugs. Most bluegills feed during daylight hours, with a feeding peak being observed in the morning and evening (with the major peak occurring in the evening). Feeding location tends to be
8184-707: Is the Morrison Formation of the western U.S. Canada is geologically one of the oldest regions in the world, with more than half of the region consisting of Precambrian rocks that have been above sea level since the beginning of the Palaeozoic era. Canada's mineral resources are diverse and extensive. Across the Canadian Shield and in the north there are large iron, nickel, zinc , copper, gold, lead, molybdenum , and uranium reserves. Large diamond concentrations have been recently developed in
8370-527: Is the humid subtropical climate . This area has the wettest cities in the contiguous U.S. , with annual precipitation reaching 67 in (1,700 mm) in Mobile, Alabama . Stretching from the borders of the humid continental and subtropical climates, and going west to the Sierra Nevada , south to the southern tip of Durango , north to the border with tundra climate, the steppe / desert climates are
8556-667: Is the state fish of Illinois . At Lake St. Helen , Michigan, an annual "Blue Gill Festival" is held in July. Bluegills are popular panfish , caught with live bait such as worms, crickets, grasshoppers, flies , minnows, maggots or small frogs, as well as small shrimp bits, processed bait, bread, corn, other table scraps, small crankbaits, spinners, fake worms, or even a bare hook. They mostly bite on vibrant colors like orange, yellow, green, or red, chiefly at dawn and dusk. They are noted for seeking out underwater vegetation for cover; their natural diet consists largely of crickets, water bugs, larvae , and very small fish. The bluegill itself
8742-441: Is unknown. Many believed Cope had died of syphilis contracted from the women with whom he fraternized during his travels. In 1995, Davidson gained permission to have the skeleton examined by a medical doctor at the university. Dr. Morrie Kricun, a professor of radiology, concluded no evidence of bony syphilis was found on Cope's skeleton. Public mentions of Cope's death were relatively slight. The Naturalist ran four photographs,
8928-463: The 100th meridian . The survey traveled through New Mexico, whose Puerco formations, he wrote to his father, provided "the most important find in geology I have ever made". The New Mexico bluffs contained millions of years of formation and subsequent deformation, and were in an area which had not been visited by Leidy or Marsh. Being part of the survey had other advantages; Cope was able to draw on fort commissaries and defray publishing costs. While there
9114-729: The Americas at least 20,000 years ago, but various evidence points to possibly earlier dates. The Paleo-Indian period in North America followed the Last Glacial Period, and lasted until about 10,000 years ago when the Archaic period began. The classic stage followed the Archaic period, and lasted from approximately the 6th to 13th centuries. Beginning in 1000 AD, the Norse were the first Europeans to begin exploring and ultimately colonizing areas of North America. In 1492,
9300-567: The Bering Strait during the Early-Middle Holocene . Prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in North America, the natives of North America were divided into many different polities, ranging from small bands of a few families to large empires. They lived in several culture areas , which roughly correspond to geographic and biological zones that defined the representative cultures and lifestyles of
9486-677: The British Association for the Advancement of Science 's Dublin meeting. He was warmly welcomed in England and France, and met with the distinguished paleontologists and archeologists of the period. Marsh's attempts to sully Cope's reputation had made little impact on anyone save paleontologist Thomas Henry Huxley , who according to Osborn, "alone treated [Cope] with coolness". Following the Dublin meeting, Cope spent two days with
SECTION 50
#17327872324569672-600: The British Columbia Coast , Western Canada , and Northern Canada . In the U.S., they include New England , the Mid-Atlantic , South Atlantic states , East North Central states , West North Central states , East South Central states , West South Central states , Mountain states , and Pacific states . The Great Lakes region and the Pacific Northwest include areas in both Canada and
9858-849: The Caribbean Plate , whereas the Juan de Fuca Plate and Cocos Plate border the North American Plate on its western frontier. The continent can be divided into four great regions (each of which contains many subregions): the Great Plains stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic ; the geologically young, mountainous west, including the Rocky Mountains , the Great Basin , California , and Alaska ;
10044-834: The Chesapeake Bay , indicating they can tolerate up to 1.8% salinity. In some locations where they have been transplanted, they are considered pests: trade in the species is prohibited in Germany and Japan . In the case of Japan, bluegills were presented to the then-crown prince, Akihito , in 1960 as a gift by Richard J. Daley , mayor of Chicago . The prince, in turn, donated the fish to fishery research agencies in Japan, from which they escaped and became an invasive species that wreaked havoc with native species, especially in Lake Biwa . Akihito has since apologized. Bluegill live in
10230-568: The Cordillera Isabelia , and the Cordillera de Talamanca . Between the mountain ranges lie fertile valleys that are suitable for the people; in fact, most of the population of Honduras, Costa Rica, and Guatemala live in valleys. Valleys are also suitable for the production of coffee, beans, and other crops. The indigenous peoples of the Americas have many creation myths , based on which they assert that they have been present on
10416-502: The Earth 's land area and 4.8% of its total surface area. It is the third-largest continent by size after Asia and Africa , and the fourth-largest continent by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe . As of 2021 , North America's population was estimated as over 592 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5% of the world's population. In human geography , the terms "North America" and "North American" can refer to Canada,
10602-465: The East Coast to eastern North Dakota , and stretching down to Kansas , is the humid continental climate featuring intense seasons, with a large amount of annual precipitation, with places like New York City averaging 50 in (1,300 mm). Starting at the southern border of the humid continental climate and stretching to the Gulf of Mexico (whilst encompassing the eastern half of Texas)
10788-620: The Inuit of the high Arctic arrived in North America much later than other native groups, evidenced by the disappearance of Dorset culture artifacts from the archaeological record and their replacement by the Thule people . During the thousands of years of native habitation on the continent, cultures changed and shifted. One of the oldest yet discovered is the Clovis culture (c. 9550–9050 BCE) in modern New Mexico . Later groups include
10974-719: The Mississippian culture and related Mound building cultures, found in the Mississippi River valley and the Pueblo culture of what is now the Four Corners . The more southern cultural groups of North America were responsible for the domestication of many common crops now used around the world, such as tomatoes, squash , and maize . As a result of the development of agriculture in the south, many other cultural advances were made there. The Mayans developed
11160-737: The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), operated a lucrative shipping business started by his father, Thomas P. Cope, in 1821. He was a philanthropist who gave money to the Society of Friends , the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens , and the Institute for Colored Youth . Edward was born and raised in a large stone house called "Fairfield", whose location is now within the boundaries of Philadelphia. The 8 acres (3.2 ha) of pristine and exotic gardens of
11346-423: The family Centrarchidae (sunfishes, crappies and black basses ) in the order Perciformes ( perch -like fish). Bluegills can grow up to 16 in (41 cm) long and about 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 lb (2.0 kg). While their color can vary from population to population, they typically have a very distinctive coloring, with deep blue and purple on the face and gill cover, dark olive-colored bands down
SECTION 60
#173278723245611532-550: The first official name given to Mexico. North America includes several regions and subregions, each of which have their own respective cultural, economic, and geographic regions. Economic regions include several regions formalized in 20th- and 21st-century trade agreements, including NAFTA between Canada , Mexico , and the United States , and CAFTA between Central America , the Dominican Republic , and
11718-415: The larvae are able to hatch and swim away on their own. The bluegill generally begins its spawning career at one year of age, but has been found to spawn as early as four months of age under favorable conditions. Anglers find spawning season to be a very successful time to fish for bluegills, as they aggressively attack anything, including a hook, that comes near. The growth of the bluegill is very rapid in
11904-563: The redear sunfish , but different in a distinct spot at or near the base of the soft dorsal fin. The bluegill occurs naturally in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains from coastal Virginia to Florida , west to Texas and northern Mexico , and north to western Minnesota , New York and southeastern Ontario . They have been introduced widely in North America and Europe , South Africa , Zimbabwe , Asia , South America , and Oceania . Bluegills have also been found in
12090-586: The "adventure" and showing it to various modern paleontologists. Among the notable incidents during the journey was Robert T. Bakker pouring pasta into the skull to measure Cope's brain size. North America North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres . North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to
12276-401: The 1490s, building cities, putting the resident indigenous populations to work, raising crops for Spanish settlers and panning gold to enrich the Spaniards. Much of the indigenous population died due to disease and overwork, spurring the Spaniards on to claim new lands and peoples. An expedition under the command of Spanish settler, Hernán Cortés , sailed westward in 1519 to what turned out to be
12462-423: The Academy of Natural Sciences and American Philosophical Society gave him outlets to publish and announce his work; many of his early paleontological works were published by the Philosophical Society. In 1863 and 1864, during the American Civil War , Cope traveled through Europe, taking the opportunity to visit the most esteemed museums and societies of the time. Initially, he seemed interested in helping out at
12648-410: The Academy of Natural Sciences, reclassifying and cataloguing specimens, and published his first series of research results in January 1859. Cope began taking French and German classes with a former Westtown teacher. Though Alfred resisted his son's pursuit of a science career, he paid for his son's private studies. Instead of working the farm his father bought for him, Edward rented out the land and used
12834-462: The Arctic, making Canada one of the world's largest producers. Throughout the Shield, there are many mining towns extracting these minerals. The largest, and best known, is Sudbury , Ontario. Sudbury is an exception to the normal process of forming minerals in the Shield since there is significant evidence that the Sudbury Basin is an ancient meteorite impact crater . The nearby, but less-known Temagami Magnetic Anomaly has striking similarities to
13020-422: The C-start escape response but the bluegill draws a majority of its momentum from the body bending associated with the response, as well as its dorsal and anal fins. The dorsal and anal fins' roles as propulsors during escape response suggest that the size of the fins could lead to an evolutionary advantage when escaping predators. Spawning season for bluegills starts late in May and extends into August. The peak of
13206-478: The Caribbean islands. France took the western half of Hispaniola and developed Saint-Domingue as a cane sugar producing colony worked by black slave labor. Britain took Barbados and Jamaica , and the Dutch and Danes took islands previously claimed by Spain. Britain did not begin settling on the North American mainland until a hundred years after the first Spanish settlements, since it sought first to control nearby Ireland . The first permanent English settlement
13392-700: The Clarendon beds of Upper Miocene and Lower Pliocene of Texas led to an affiliation with the Geological Survey of Texas. Cope's papers on the region constitute some of his most important paleontological contributions. In 1877, he purchased half the rights to the American Naturalist to publish the papers he produced at a rate so high, Marsh questioned their dating. Cope returned to Europe in August 1878 in response to an invitation to join
13578-635: The Cod fish", in reference to the abundance of cod fish on the East Coast . Waldseemüller used the Latin version of Vespucci's name, Americus Vespucius, in its feminine form of "America", following the examples of "Europa", "Asia", and "Africa". Americus originated from Medieval Latin Emericus (see Saint Emeric of Hungary ), coming from the Old High German name Emmerich . Map makers later extended
13764-551: The French Association for the Advancement of Science. At each gathering, Cope exhibited dinosaur restorations by Philadelphia colleague John A. Ryder and various charts and plates from geological surveys of the 1870s led by Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden . He returned to London on October 12, meeting with anatomist Richard Owen , ichthyologist Albert Günther , and paleontologist H. G. Seeley . While in Europe, Cope purchased
13950-789: The Geological Survey gave him the resources to employ 54 staff members over the course of ten years. His teaching position at Yale meant he had guaranteed access to the American Journal of Science for publication. Cope had his interest in the Naturalist , but it drained him of funds. After Hayden was removed from the survey, Cope lost his source of government funding. His fortune was not enough to support his rivalry, so Cope invested in mining. Most of his properties were silver mines in New Mexico; one mine yielded an ore vein worth $ 3 million in silver chloride . Cope visited
14136-476: The North America's southeastern coast, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León , who had accompanied Columbus's second voyage, visited and named in 1513 La Florida . As the colonial period unfolded, Spain, England, and France appropriated and claimed extensive territories in North America eastern and southern coastlines. Spain established permanent settlements on the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Cuba in
14322-479: The Sudbury Basin. Its magnetic anomalies are very similar to the Sudbury Basin, and so it could be a second metal-rich impact crater. The Shield is also covered by vast boreal forests that support an important logging industry. The United States can be divided into twelve main geological provinces: Each province has its own geologic history and unique features. The geology of Alaska is typical of that of
14508-535: The U.S. North America occupies the northern portion of the landmass generally referred to as the New World, the Western Hemisphere , the Americas, or simply America, which, in many countries, is considered a single continent with North America a subcontinent . North America is the third-largest continent by area after Asia and Africa . North America's only land connection to South America
14694-663: The United States also marked an expansion of his scientific studies; in 1864, he described several fishes, a whale, and the amphibian Amphibamus grandiceps (his first paleontological contribution). During the period between 1866 and 1867, Cope went on trips to western parts of the country. He related to his father his scientific experiences; to his daughter he sent descriptions of animal life as part of her education. Cope found educating his students at Haverford "a pleasure", but wrote to his father that he "could not get any work done." He resigned from his position at Haverford and moved his family to Haddonfield , in part to be closer to
14880-490: The United States has been the source of more varieties of dinosaurs than any other modern country. According to paleontologist Peter Dodson, this is primarily due to stratigraphy, climate and geography, human resources, and history. Much of the Mesozoic Era is represented by exposed outcrops in the many arid regions of the continent. The most significant Late Jurassic dinosaur-bearing fossil deposit in North America
15066-611: The United States, Mexico, and Greenland or, alternatively, Canada, Greenland and the US (Mexico being classified as part of Latin America ) or simply Canada and the US (Greenland being classified as either Arctic or European (due to its political status as a part of Denmark) and Mexico classified as Latin American). It is unknown with certainty how and when first human populations first reached North America. People were known to live in
15252-550: The United States, and Mexico. France , Italy , Portugal , Spain , Romania , Greece , and the countries of Latin America use a six-continent model , with the Americas viewed as a single continent and North America designating a subcontinent comprising Canada , the United States , Mexico, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (politically part of France), and often including Greenland and Bermuda . North America has historically been known by other names, including Spanish North America, New Spain , and América Septentrional,
15438-579: The United States. North America is divided linguistically and culturally into two primary regions, Anglo-America and Latin America . Anglo-America includes most of North America, Belize , and Caribbean islands with English -speaking populations. There are also regions, including Louisiana and Quebec , with large Francophone populations; in Quebec , French is the official language. . The southern portion of North America includes Central America and non-English speaking Caribbean nations. The north of
15624-412: The West, Cope politely refused to answer. When Cope arrived back in the United States after his tour of Europe in 1878, he had nearly two years of fossil findings from Lucas. Among these dinosaurs was Camarasaurus , one of the most recognizable dinosaur recreations of the time. The summer of 1879 took Cope to Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and north to Oregon, where he was amazed at the rich flora and
15810-547: The area had shifted to the Aztec Empire , whose capital city Tenochtitlan was located further north in the Valley of Mexico . The Aztecs were conquered in 1521 by Hernán Cortés . During the so-called Age of Discovery , Europeans explored overseas and staked claims to various parts of North America, much of which was already settled by indigenous peoples. Upon Europeans' arrival in the " New World ", indigenous peoples had
15996-519: The area. The two scientists attempted to sabotage each other's progress. Cope was described as a genius and what Marsh lacked in intelligence, he easily made up for in connections—Marsh's uncle was George Peabody , a rich banker who supported Marsh with money, and a secure position at the Peabody Museum . Marsh lobbied John Wesley Powell to act against Cope and attempted to persuade Hayden to "muzzle" Cope's publishing. Both men tried to spy on
16182-437: The beds after moving to Haddonfield made more frequent trips possible. The Copes lived comfortably in a frame house backed by an apple orchard. Two maids tended the estate, which entertained a number of guests. Cope's only concern was for more money to spend on his scientific work. The 1870s were the golden years of Cope's career, marked by his most prominent discoveries and rapid flow of publications. Among his descriptions were
16368-486: The bluegill is deprived of its various sensory abilities, it utilizes its pectoral fins in navigation. If the bluegill's visual input or lateral line input were to be compromised, its pectoral fins are then able to be utilized as mechanosensors through the bending of the fin(s) when the fish comes into contact with its environment. In standard swimming the bluegill sunfish relies on its caudal (tail) fin, dorsal fin, and anal fin. The bluegill's caudal fin muscles are important in
16554-836: The blueness of the Pacific Ocean. In 1879, the United States Congress consolidated the various government survey teams into the United States Geological Survey with Clarence King as its leader. This was discouraging to Cope because King named Marsh, an old college friend, as the chief paleontologist. The period of Cope's and Marsh's paleontological digs in the American West spanned from 1877 to 1892, by which time both men exhausted much of their financial resources. The 1880s proved disastrous for Cope. Marsh's close association with
16740-433: The center of colonies. Populations with large males are increasingly difficult to find, and are usually only found in remote locations without angling pressure or in more southern regions where growth rates are high. Reduced bag limits appear to show potential for improving size-structure in over-fished populations. Bluegills play an important role in pond and lake management to keep crustacean and insect populations low, as
16926-493: The collectors he had hired and sell his collections. During this period, he published 40 to 75 papers each year. With the failure of his mines, Cope began searching for a job, but was turned down at the Smithsonian and American Museum of Natural History . He turned to giving lectures for hire and writing magazine articles. Each year, he lobbied Congress for an appropriation with which to finish his work on "Cope's Bible",
17112-432: The continent maintains recognized regions as well. In contrast to the common definition of North America, which encompasses the whole North American continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used more narrowly to refer only to four nations, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and the U.S. The U.S. Census Bureau includes Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but excludes Mexico from its definition. The term Northern America refers to
17298-981: The continent's coasts; principally, the Arctic Archipelago, the Bahamas , Turks and Caicos , the Greater and Lesser Antilles , the Aleutian Islands (some of which are in the Eastern Hemisphere proper), the Alexander Archipelago , the many thousand islands of the British Columbia Coast, and Newfoundland. Greenland , a self-governing Danish island, and the world's largest , is on the same tectonic plate (the North American Plate ) and
17484-599: The continent. The vast majority of North America is on the North American Plate. Parts of western Mexico, including Baja California, and of California , including the cities of San Diego , Los Angeles , and Santa Cruz , lie on the eastern edge of the Pacific Plate , with the two plates meeting along the San Andreas Fault . The southernmost portion of the continent and much of the West Indies lie on
17670-659: The cordillera, while the major islands of Hawaii consist of Neogene volcanics erupted over a hot spot . Central America is geologically active with volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occurring from time to time. In 1976 Guatemala was hit by a major earthquake , killing 23,000 people; Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, was devastated by earthquakes in 1931 and 1972, the last one killing about 5,000 people; three earthquakes devastated El Salvador, one in 1986 and two in 2001; one earthquake devastated northern and central Costa Rica in 2009, killing at least 34 people; in Honduras
17856-685: The cultures of the region commonly reflect Western traditions . However, relatively small parts of North America in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Central America have indigenous populations that continue adhering to their respective pre-European colonial cultural and linguistic traditions. The Americas were named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann . Vespucci explored South America between 1497 and 1502, and
18042-414: The day played with him at night ... sometimes he would lose half the night in this exhausting slumber." Nevertheless, Cope continued to lead the party from sunrise to sunset, sending letters to his wife and child describing his finds. The severe desert conditions and Cope's habit of overworking himself till he was bedridden caught up with him, and in 1872, he broke down from exhaustion. Cope maintained
18228-473: The daylight hours. The mouth of the bluegill is very small and requires the use of the pharynx to suck in prey. The bluegill sunfish relies heavily on the flexibility of its fins to maintain maneuverability in response to fluid forces. The bluegill's segmentation in its pectoral fin rays mitigates the effects of fluid forces on the fish's movement. The bluegill has a variety of unusual adaptations that allow it to navigate different environments. In conditions where
18414-581: The dinosaur Drinker nisti Bakker et al., 1990 , the lizards Alopoglossus copii Boulenger , 1885 , Gambelia copeii ( Yarrow , 1882) , Plestiodon copei ( Taylor , 1933) , Sepsina copei Bocage , 1873 , Sphaerodactylus copei Steindachner , 1867 , the snakes Thamnophis copei Dugès , 1879 , Aspidura copei Günther , 1864 , Cemophora coccinea copei Jan , 1863 , Coniophanes imperialis copei Hartweg & J. Oliver , 1938 , Dipsas copei Günther, 1872 , Cope's gray treefrog Hyla chrysoscelis Cope, 1880, and
18600-571: The driest in the U.S. Highland climates cut from north to south of the continent, where subtropical or temperate climates occur just below the tropics, as in central Mexico and Guatemala . Tropical climates appear in the island regions and in the subcontinent's bottleneck, found in countries and states bathed by the Caribbean Sea or to the south of the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean . Precipitation patterns vary across
18786-587: The early dinosaur Coelophysis in 1889. In 1889, he succeeded Leidy, who had died the previous year, as professor of zoology at the University of Pennsylvania. The small yearly stipend was enough for Cope's family to move back into one of the townhouses he had been forced to relinquish earlier. In 1892, Cope (then 52 years old) was granted expense money for field work from the Texas Geological Survey . With his finances improved, he
18972-441: The edge of the nest. As a female approaches, the male will begin circling and making grunting noises. The motion and sound of the males seem to attract the females. Females are very choosy and will usually pick males with larger bodies and "ears", making larger size a desirable trait for males to have. If the female enters the nest, both the male and female will circle each other, with the male expressing very aggressive behavior toward
19158-582: The editor of the New York Herald and promised a scandalous headline. Since 1885, Cope had kept an elaborate journal of mistakes and misdeeds that both Marsh and Powell had committed over the years. From scientific errors to publishing mistakes, he had them written down in a journal he kept in the bottom drawer of his Pine Street desk. Cope sought out Marsh's assistants, who complained of being denied access and credit by their employer and of being chronically underpaid. Reporter William Hosea Ballou ran
19344-470: The end of the Canadian Shield, near the Great Lakes . Climate west of the Cascade Range is described as being temperate weather with average precipitation 20 inches (510 millimeters). Climate in coastal California is described to be Mediterranean , with average temperatures in cities like San Francisco ranging from 57 to 70 °F (14 to 21 °C) over the course of the year. Stretching from
19530-432: The entire funding for paleontology in the government surveys was pulled. Cope took his sinking fortunes in stride. In writing to Osborn about the articles, he laughed at the outcome, saying, "It will now rest largely with you whether or not I am supposed to be a liar and am actuated by jealousy and disappointment. I think Marsh is impaled on the horns of Monoclonius sphenocerus ." Cope was well aware of his enemies and
19716-592: The exploratory voyages of Christopher Columbus led to a transatlantic exchange , including migrations of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the early modern period . Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples , enslaved Africans , immigrants from Europe, Asia, and descendants of these respective groups. Europe's colonization in North America led to most North Americans speaking European languages, such as English , Spanish , and French , and
19902-471: The favor, naming Mosasaurus copeanus for Cope in 1869. Cope introduced his colleague to the marl pit owner Albert Vorhees when the two visited the site. Marsh went behind Cope's back and made a private agreement with Vorhees: any fossils that Vorhees's men found were sent back to Marsh at New Haven. When Marsh was at Haddonfield examining one of Cope's fossil finds—a complete skeleton of a large aquatic plesiosaur , Elasmosaurus , that had four flippers and
20088-402: The female's eggs in the water. Smaller males will often hide in nearby weeds and dart into the nest as they attempt to fertilize the eggs. They then quickly dart away. The size of the female plays a large role in how many eggs will be produced. A small female can produce as few as 1,000 eggs, and a large, healthy female can produce up to 100,000 eggs. The male continues to watch over the nest until
20274-429: The female. If the female stays, the pair will enter the nest and come to rest in the middle. With the male in an upright posture, the pair will touch bellies, quiver, and spawn . These actions are repeated at irregular intervals several times in a row. Once the spawning is done, the male will chase the female out of the nest and guard the eggs. The fertilization process is entirely external. The male's sperm combines with
20460-550: The females of one species to prefer the nest of another. Bluegill can theoretically hybridize with all other species in the genus lepomis, though the most common hybrid is the Greengill . The hybrid fish are aggressive and have larger mouths than their Bluegill parent. These fish also grow faster than other small mouth fish due to its bigger mouth. Greengills or hybrid bluegills are the most efficient in growth and can reach approximately 2 lbs or 0.91 kg in one year. [1] The bluegill
20646-717: The finances to hire multiple teams to search for fossils for him year-round and he advised the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition on their fossil displays. Cope's studies of marine reptiles of Kansas closed in 1876, opening a new focus on terrestrial reptiles. The same year, Cope moved from Haddonfield to 2100 and 2102 Pine Street in Philadelphia. He converted one of the two houses into a museum where he stored his growing collection of fossils. Cope's expeditions took him across Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Montana. His initial journey into
20832-562: The first American inhabitants sailed from Beringia some 13,000 years ago, with widespread habitation of the Americas during the end of the Last Glacial Period , in what is known as the Late Glacial Maximum , around 12,500 years ago. The oldest petroglyphs in North America date from 15,000 to 10,000 years before present. Genetic research and anthropology indicate additional waves of migration from Asia via
21018-409: The first article on January 12, 1890, in what would become a series of newspaper debates between Marsh, Powell, and Cope. Cope attacked Marsh for plagiarism and financial mismanagement, and attacked Powell for his geological classification errors and misspending of government-allocated funds. Marsh and Powell published their own side of the story and, in the end, little changed. No congressional hearing
21204-516: The first three years, but slows considerably once the fish reaches maturity. Many fish reach five to eight years old, and in extreme cases, can live 11 years. Occasionally a bluegill may spawn with another member of its genus, though this is rare. This tends to happen in bodies of water that are fairly isolated and have a decent population of bluegill in close proximity to another, smaller, population of lepomid species such as green sunfish . Limited nesting grounds can also factor in hybridization causing
21390-558: The first to settle in America, in 1683, was Oliver Cope, a tailor formerly of Avebury , Wiltshire , who was granted two hundred and fifty acres in Delaware . The death of his mother when he was three years old seemed to have had little effect on young Edward, as he mentioned in his letters that he had no recollection of her. His stepmother, Rebecca Biddle, filled the maternal role; Cope referred to her warmly, as well as his younger stepbrother, James Biddle Cope. Alfred, an orthodox member of
21576-423: The fish makes them hard to swallow. Raccoons are also believed to be among their predators. Bluegills have the ability to travel and change directions at high speeds by means of synchronized fin movements. They use notched caudal fins, soft dorsal fins , body undulations, and pectoral fins to move forward. Having a notched caudal fin allows them to accelerate quickly. The speed of their forward motion depends on
21762-410: The fish must get within 1.75 centimeters of the prey. In turn, bluegill are prey to many larger species, including largemouth bass , smallmouth bass , striped bass , trout , muskellunge , turtles , northern pike , yellow perch , walleye , catfish , and even larger bluegill. Herons , kingfishers , and otters have also been witnessed catching bluegill in shallow water. However, the shape of
21948-419: The fish's slow swimming and also important in the beginning stages of the fish increasing its swimming speed. The dorsal and anal fins are two types of median fins that work in parallel to balance torque during steady swimming. When swimming backwards, the bluegill utilizes a plethora of fin muscles located in various parts of its body. Backward swimming in the bluegill is more complex than steady swimming, as it
22134-417: The following conclusion: The Indo-European race is then the highest by virtue of the acceleration of growth in the development of the muscles by which the body is maintained in the erect position (extensors of the leg), and in those important elements of beauty, a well-developed nose and beard. It is also superior in those points in which it is more embryonic than the other races, viz., the want of prominence of
22320-576: The fossil beds of western New Jersey. Due to the time-consuming nature of his Haverford position, Cope had not had time to attend to his farm and had let it out to others, but eventually found he was in need of more money to fuel his scientific habits. Pleading with his father for money to pursue his career, he finally sold the farm in 1869. Alfred apparently did not press his son to continue farming, and Edward focused on his scientific career. He continued his continental travels, including trips to Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. He visited caves across
22506-461: The fossil fields of Kansas. Leidy and Marsh had been to the region earlier, and Cope employed one of Marsh's guides, Benjamin Mudge , who was in want of a job. Cope's companion Charles Sternberg described the lack of water and good food available to Cope and his helpers on these expeditions. Cope would suffer from a "severe attack of nightmare" in which "every animal of which we had found trace during
22692-911: The geographic center of either the 50 states, the conterminous United States, or the North American continent." Nonetheless, there is a 4.6-meter (15 ft) field stone obelisk in Rugby claiming to mark the center. The North American continental pole of inaccessibility is located 1,650 km (1,030 mi) from the nearest coastline, between Allen and Kyle, South Dakota at 43°22′N 101°58′W / 43.36°N 101.97°W / 43.36; -101.97 ( Pole of Inaccessibility North America ) . Canada can be divided into roughly seven physiographic divisions: The lower 48 U.S. states can be divided into roughly eight physiographic divisions: Mexico can be divided into roughly fifteen physiographic divisions: North America
22878-469: The girl he would like to marry: "an amiable woman, not over sensitive, with considerable energy, and especially one inclined to be serious and not inclined to frivolity and display—the more truly Christian of course the better—seems to be the most practically the most suitable for me, though intellect and accomplishments have more charm." Cope thought of Annie Pim, a member of the Society of Friends, as less
23064-414: The house offered a landscape that Edward was able to explore. The Copes began teaching their children to read and write while very young, and took Edward on trips across New England and to museums, zoos, and gardens. Cope's interest in animals became apparent at a young age, as did his natural artistic ability. Alfred intended to give his son the same education he himself had received. At age nine, Edward
23250-596: The income to further his scientific endeavors. Alfred finally gave in to Edward's wishes and paid for university classes. Cope attended the University of Pennsylvania in the 1861 and/or 1862 academic years, studying comparative anatomy under Joseph Leidy , one of the most influential anatomists and paleontologists at the time. Cope asked his father to pay for a tutor in German and French to allow him to read scholarly works in those languages. During this period, he had
23436-419: The indigenous people who lived there, including the bison hunters of the Great Plains and the farmers of Mesoamerica . Native groups also are classified by their language families , which included Athapascan and Uto-Aztecan languages. Indigenous peoples with similar languages did not always share the same material culture , however, and were not necessarily always allies. Anthropologists speculate that
23622-551: The intellectual unrest of the period." Lanham writes that Cope's religious fervor (which seems to have subsided after his father's death) was embarrassing to even his devout Quaker associates. Biographer Jane Davidson believes that Osborn overstated Cope's internal religious conflicts. She ascribes Cope's deference to his father's beliefs as an act of respect or a measure to retain his father's financial support. Frazer's reminiscences about his friend suggest Cope often told people what they wanted to hear, rather than his true views. As
23808-423: The jaws and cheek-bones, since these are associated with a greater predominance of the cerebral part of the skull, increased size of cerebral hemispheres, and greater intellectual power. He believed that if, "a race was not white then it was inherently more ape-like". He was opposed to blacks because of their "degrading vices", believing that the "inferior Negro should go back to Africa" and that their "poor virtue"
23994-468: The land since its creation, but there is no evidence that humans evolved there. The specifics of the initial settlement of the Americas by ancient Asians are subject to ongoing research and discussion. The traditional theory has been that hunters entered the Bering Land Bridge between eastern Siberia and present-day Alaska from 27,000 to 14,000 years ago. A growing viewpoint is that
24180-657: The mainland in Mexico. With local indigenous allies, the Spanish conquered the Aztec empire in central Mexico in 1521. Spain then established permanent cities in Mexico, Central America, and Spanish South America in the sixteenth century. Once Spaniards conquered the high civilization of the Aztecs and Incas, the Caribbean was a backwater of the Spanish empire. Other European powers began to intrude on areas claimed by Spain, including
24366-490: The method of cooking them, bluegills are often called panfish . The IGFA all tackle world record for the species stands at 2.15 kg (4 lb 12 oz) caught from Ketona lake in Alabama in 1950. Bluegill populations are notably vulnerable to effects of angling and harvest, particularly in size-structure. Large males appear to be especially vulnerable to effects of fishing because of their tendency to guard nests in
24552-927: The middle into the main range of the Rockies and the coast ranges in California , Oregon , Washington , and British Columbia , with the Great Basin—a lower area containing smaller ranges and low-lying deserts—in between. The highest peak is Denali in Alaska. The U.S. Geographical Survey (USGS) states that the geographic center of North America is "6 miles [10 km] west of Balta, Pierce County, North Dakota " at about 48°10′N 100°10′W / 48.167°N 100.167°W / 48.167; -100.167 , about 24 kilometers (15 mi) from Rugby, North Dakota . The USGS further states that "No marked or monumented point has been established by any government agency as
24738-437: The mines each summer from 1881 to 1885, taking the opportunity to supervise or collect other minerals. For a while he made good money, but the mines stopped producing and by 1886 he had to give up his now-worthless stocks. The same year he received a teaching position at the University of Pennsylvania. He continued to travel west, but realized he would not be able to best Marsh in cornering the market for bones; he had to release
24924-632: The most highly esteemed scientists of the world during his travels through France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Austria, Italy, and Eastern Europe, most likely with introductory letters from Leidy and Spencer Baird. In the winter of 1863, Edward met Othniel Charles Marsh while in Berlin. Marsh, age 32, was attending the University of Berlin . He held two university degrees in comparison to Edward's lack of formal schooling past 16, but Edward had written 37 scientific papers in comparison to Marsh's two published works. While they would later become rivals,
25110-454: The name America to North America. In 1538, Gerardus Mercator used the term America on his world map of the entire Western Hemisphere . On his subsequent 1569 map , Mercator called North America "America or New India" ( America sive India Nova ). The Spanish Empire called its territories in North and South America "Las Indias", and the name given to the state body that oversaw the region
25296-407: The new draft. I shall not be sorry for this, as I know certain persons who would be mean enough to say that I have gone to Europe to avoid the war." Eventually, Cope took the pragmatic approach and waited out the conflict. He may have suffered from mild depression during this period, and often complained of boredom. Despite his torpor, Edward proceeded with his tour of Europe, and met with some of
25482-493: The northernmost countries and territories of North America: the U.S., Bermuda , Canada, Greenland, and St. Pierre and Miquelon. Although the term does not refer to a unified region, Middle America includes Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. North America's largest countries by land area are Canada and the U.S., both of which have well-defined and recognized subregions. In Canada, these include (from east to west) Atlantic Canada , Central Canada , Canadian Prairies ,
25668-440: The northernmost extent of the island named Newfoundland , has provided unmistakable evidence of Norse settlement. Norse explorer Leif Erikson (c. 970–1020 CE) is thought to have visited the area. Erikson was the first European to make landfall on the continent (excluding Greenland). The Mayan culture was still present in southern Mexico and Guatemala when the Spanish conquistadors arrived, but political dominance in
25854-450: The origin of mammalian molars is notable among his theoretical contributions. Edward Drinker Cope was born on July 28, 1840, the eldest son of Alfred Cope and Hannah, daughter of Thomas Edge, of Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was a distant cousin of historian Gilbert Cope . His middle name, "Drinker", was his paternal grandmother's maiden name, she being daughter of John Drinker, of Philadelphia. The Cope family were of English origin;
26040-463: The origin of mammals. Word of Cope's illness spread, and he was visited by friends and colleagues; even in a feverish condition Cope delivered lectures from his bed. Cope died on April 12, 1897, 16 weeks short of his 57th birthday. Sternberg, still prospecting for Cope that spring, was woken by a liveryman who relayed word from Annie that Cope had died three days earlier. Sternberg wrote in his memoirs, "I had lost friends before, and I had known what it
26226-477: The other's whereabouts and attempted to offer their collectors more money in the hopes of recruiting them to their own side. Cope was able to recruit David Baldwin in New Mexico and Frank Williston in Wyoming from Marsh. Cope and Marsh were extremely secretive as to the source of their fossils. When Henry Fairfield Osborn, at the time a student at Princeton, visited Cope to ask where to travel to look for fossils in
26412-520: The peak years, Cope published around 25 reports and preliminary observations each year. The hurried publications led to errors in interpretation and naming—many of his scientific names were later canceled or withdrawn. In comparison, Marsh wrote and published less frequently and more succinctly—his works appeared in the widely read American Journal of Science, which led to faster reception abroad, and Marsh's reputation grew more rapidly than Cope's. In autumn 1871, Cope began prospecting farther west to
26598-518: The presence of neurally controlled chromatophores under the skin. The fish usually displays 5–9 vertical bars on the sides of its body immediately after being caught as part of its threat display. It typically has a yellowish breast and abdomen, with the breast of the breeding male being a bright orange. The bluegill has three anal fin spines, ten to 12 anal fin rays, six to 13 dorsal fin spines, 11 to 12 dorsal rays, and 12 to 13 pectoral rays. They are characterized by their deep, flattened bodies. They have
26784-459: The preservation of superficial characteristics in organisms, natural selection alone could not explain the formation of genera. Cope's suggested mechanism for this action was a "steady progressive development of organization" through what Cope termed "a continual crowding backward of the successive steps of individual development". His beliefs later evolved to one with an increased emphasis on continual and utilitarian evolution with less involvement of
26970-532: The quiet, Osborn had brought along a Bible and read an excerpt from the Book of Job , ending by saying, "These are the problems to which our friend devoted his life." The coffin was loaded on a hearse and carried to a gathering at Fairfield; much of the gathering was spent in silence. After the coffin was removed, the assembled began talking. Frazer recalled that each person remembered Cope differently, and "Few men succeeded so well in concealing from anyone ... all
27156-605: The raised but relatively flat plateau of the Canadian Shield in the northeast; and the varied eastern region, which includes the Appalachian Mountains, the coastal plain along the Atlantic seaboard, and the Florida peninsula. Mexico, with its long plateaus and cordilleras , falls largely in the western region, although the eastern coastal plain does extend south along the Gulf. The western mountains are split in
27342-500: The region, and as such rainforest , monsoon , and savanna types can be found, with rains and high temperatures throughout the year. Notable North American fauna include the bison , black bear , jaguar , cougar , prairie dog , turkey , pronghorn , raccoon , coyote , and monarch butterfly . Notable plants that were domesticated in North America include tobacco , maize , squash , tomato , sunflower , blueberry , avocado , cotton , chile pepper , and vanilla . Laurentia
27528-579: The region. He stopped these cave explorations after an 1871 trip to the Wyandotte Caves in Indiana, but remained interested in the subject. Cope had visited Haddonfield many times in the 1860s, paying periodic visits to the marl pits. The fossils he found in these pits became the focus of several papers, including a description in 1868 of Elasmosaurus platyurus and Laelaps . Marsh accompanied him on one of these excursions. Cope's proximity to
27714-504: The remainder went to Annie. Cope's estate was valued at $ 75,327, not including additional revenue raised by sales of fossils to the American Museum of Natural History, for a total of $ 84,600. Some specimens preserved in alcohol made their way to the Academy of Natural Sciences, including a few Gordian worms . Cope insisted through his will that no graveside service or burial be held; he had donated his body to science. He issued
27900-537: The remains were of a dinosaur even bigger than Lakes' that Marsh had described. Word that Lakes had notified Cope of his finds galvanized Marsh into action. When Marsh heard from Union Pacific Railroad workers W.E. Carlin and W.H. Reed about a vast boneyard northwest of Laramie in Como Bluff , Marsh sent his agent, Samuel Wendell Williston , to take charge of the digging. Cope, in response, learned of Carlin and Reed's discoveries and sent his own men to find bones in
28086-487: The results of the formation of Pangaea was the Appalachian Mountains , which formed some 480 mya, making it among the oldest mountain ranges in the world. When Pangaea began to rift around 200 mya, North America became part of Laurasia , before it separated from Eurasia as its own continent during the mid- Cretaceous period. The Rockies and other western mountain ranges began forming around this time from
28272-516: The sales allowed him to rehire Sternberg to prospect for fossils on his behalf. In 1896, Cope began suffering from a gastrointestinal illness he said was cystitis . His wife cared for him in Philadelphia when she was able; at other times, Cope's university secretary, Anna Brown, tended to him. Cope at this time lived in his Pine Street museum and rested on a cot surrounded by his fossil finds. Cope often prescribed himself medications, including large amounts of morphine , belladonna , and formalin ,
28458-501: The school, he frequently visited the Academy of Natural Sciences . Edward often obtained bad marks due to quarreling and bad conduct. His letters to his father show he chafed at farm work and betrayed flashes of the temper for which he would later become well known. After sending Edward back to the farm for summer break in 1854 and 1855, Alfred did not return Edward to school after spring 1856. Instead, Alfred attempted to turn his son into
28644-415: The shade of trees along banks , and will often move from one cover to another depending on the time of day or season. The bluegill is noted for the large black appendage (the "ear") on each side of the posterior edge of the gill covers as well as the base of the dorsal fin. The sides of its head and chin are commonly a dark shade of blue, hence the name "bluegill". The precise coloration will vary due to
28830-413: The shallow waters of many lakes and ponds, along with streams, creeks, and rivers. They prefer water with many aquatic plants, and seclude themselves within or near fallen logs, water weeds or any other structure (natural or manmade) that is under water. They can often be found around weed beds, where they search for food or spawn . In the summer, adults move to deep, open water where they suspend just below
29016-709: The side, and a fiery orange to yellow belly. They are omnivorous and will consume anything they can fit in their mouth, but mostly feed on small aquatic insects and baitfishes . The fish are important prey for bass , other larger sunfish , northern pike and muskellunge , walleye , trout , herons , kingfishers , snapping turtles and otters , and play a key role within the food chain of its freshwater ecosystem . A popular panfish among anglers , bluegill usually hide around and inside old tree stumps in swamps and other underwater structures (e.g. snags ), and can live in either deep or very shallow water. Bluegills also like to find shelter among aquatic plants and in
29202-482: The sides of his multiform character." Osborn, intending to follow the coffin to the graveyard, was instead pulled aside by Collins and taken to the reading of Cope's will—Osborn and Cope's brother-in-law John Garrett were named executors. Cope gave his family a choice of his books, with the remainder to be sold or donated to the University of Pennsylvania. After debts were handled, Cope left small bequests to friends and family—Anna Brown and Julia received $ 5000 each, while
29388-567: The southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea , and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean . The region includes the Bahamas , Bermuda , Canada , the Caribbean , Central America , Clipperton Island , Greenland , Mexico , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , Turks and Caicos Islands , and the United States . North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles), representing approximately 16.5% of
29574-568: The spawning season usually occurs in June in waters of 67 to 80 °F (19 to 27 °C). The male bluegills arrive first at the mating site. They will make a spawning bed of six to 12 inches in diameter in shallow water, clustering as many as 50 beds together. The males scoop out these beds in gravel or sand. Males tend to be very protective and chase everything away from their nests, especially other male bluegills. Some bluegills, regardless of their small size, will even attack snorkelers if they approach
29760-568: The splash tetra genus Copella G.S. Myers , 1956 are among the many taxa named in honor of Cope. Currently, 21 fish species named copei are distributed among 11 families. Cope lent his name to the Journal of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (nee Copeia ) from 1913 to 2020. Cope's Pine Street home is recognized as a national landmark. Cope's remains are still kept as scientific specimens. His brain
29946-569: The strength of which they abduct or adduct fins. The flat, slender body of the bluegill lowers water resistance and allows the bluegills to cut effectively through water. The large, flexible pectoral fins allow the fish to decelerate quickly. This superior maneuverability allows the bluegill to forage and escape predators very successfully. Bluegills have a lateral line system, as well as inner ears, that act as receptors for vibration and pressure changes. However, bluegills rely heavily on sight to feed, especially in their foraging. Optimal vision occurs in
30132-944: The surface and feed on plankton and other aquatic creatures. Bluegill try to spend most of their time in water from 60 to 80 °F (16 to 27 °C), and tend to have a home range of about 320 square feet (30 m) during nonreproductive months. They enjoy heat, but do not like direct sunlight – they typically live in deeper water, but will linger near the water surface in the morning to stay warm. Bluegill are usually found in schools of 10 to 20 fish, and these schools will often include other panfish, such as crappie , pumpkinseeds , and smallmouth bass . Young bluegills' diet consists of rotifers , copepods , water fleas , and insects (mainly chironomids ). The adult diet consists of aquatic insect larvae ( mayflies , caddisflies , dragonflies ), but can also include terrestrial insects, zooplankton , shrimp , crayfish , leeches , other worms , snails , and other small fish (such as minnows ). If food
30318-460: The therapsid Lystrosaurus (1870), the archosauromorph Champsosaurus (1876), and the sauropod Amphicoelias (1878), possibly the largest dinosaur ever discovered. In the period of one year, from 1879 to 1880, Cope published 76 papers based on his travels through New Mexico and Colorado, and on the findings of his collectors in Texas, Kansas, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. During
30504-471: The two had essentially separated, though they remained on amiable terms. Cope sold his collections to the American Museum of Natural History in 1895; his set of 10,000 American fossil mammals sold for $ 32,000, lower than Cope's asking price of $ 50,000. The purchase was financed by the donations from New York's high society. Cope sold three other collections for $ 29,000. While his collection contained more than 13,000 specimens, Cope's fossil hoard
30690-508: The two increased towards the latter half of the 1870s. In 1877, Marsh received a letter from Arthur Lakes , a schoolteacher in Golden, Colorado. Lakes had been hiking in the mountains near the town of Morrison with his friend, H. C. Beckwith, looking for fossilized leaves in the Dakota sandstone. Instead, the pair found large bones embedded in the rock. Lakes wrote that the bones were "apparently
30876-467: The two men appeared to take a liking to each other upon meeting. Marsh led Edward on a tour of the city, and they stayed together for days. After Edward left Berlin, the two maintained correspondence, exchanging manuscripts, fossils, and photographs. Edward burned many of his journals and letters from Europe upon his return to the United States. Friends intervened and stopped Cope from destroying some of his drawings and notes, in what author Url Lanham deemed
31062-472: The unnamed woman (whom he at one point intended to marry) broke off the relationship is unknown, but he took the breakup poorly. Biographer and paleontologist Henry Fairfield Osborn attributed Edward's sudden departure for Europe as a method of keeping him from being drafted into the Civil War. Cope did write to his father from London on February 11, 1864, "I shall get home in time to catch and be caught by
31248-432: The womb. Cope's Theology of Evolution (1887) argued that consciousness comes from the mind of the universe and governs evolution by directing animals to new goals . According to Sideris (2003), "[Cope] argued that organisms respond to changes in their environments by an exercise of choice. Consciousness itself, he maintained, was the principal force in evolution . Cope credited God with having built into evolution
31434-571: Was a blow to Cope; his father was a constant confidant. The same year marked a suspension of much of Cope's field work and a new emphasis on writing up discoveries of the previous years. His chief publication of the time, The Vertebrata of the Cretaceous Formations of the West , was a collection of 303 pages and 54 illustration plates. The memoir summarized his experiences prospecting in New Jersey and Kansas. Cope now had
31620-399: Was a strong believer in the law of use and disuse—that an individual will slowly, over time, favor an anatomical part of its body so much that it will become stronger and larger as time progresses down the generations. The giraffe, for example, stretched its neck to reach taller trees and passed this acquired characteristic to its offspring in a developmental phase that is added to gestation in
31806-633: Was able to publish a massive work on the Batrachians of North America , which was the most detailed analysis and organization of the continent's frogs and amphibians ever mastered, and the 1,115-page The Crocodilians Lizards and Snakes of North America . In the 1890s, his publication rate increased to an average of 43 articles a year. His final expedition to the West took place in 1894, when he prospected for dinosaurs in South Dakota and visited sites in Texas and Oklahoma. The same year, Julia
31992-454: Was an American zoologist , paleontologist , comparative anatomist , herpetologist , and ichthyologist . Born to a wealthy Quaker family, he distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science, publishing his first scientific paper at the age of 19. Though his father tried to raise Cope as a gentleman farmer , he eventually acquiesced to his son's scientific aspirations. Cope had little formal scientific training, and he eschewed
32178-422: Was both genial and always interesting, easily approachable, and both kindly and helpful." Cope's affability during visits to the Academy of Natural Sciences to compare specimens was later recalled by his colleague Witmer Stone : "I have often seen him busily engaged in such comparisons, all the while whistling whole passages from grand opera, or else counting the scales on the back of a lizard, while he conversed in
32364-442: Was called the Council of the Indies . The United Nations and its statistics division recognize North America as including three regions: Northern America, Central America , and the Caribbean . "Northern America" is a distinct term from "North America", excluding Central America, which itself may or may not include Mexico . In the limited context of regional trade agreements, the term is used to reference three nations: Canada,
32550-416: Was carefree enough to name a species after a combination of "Cope" and "hater", Anisonchus cophater . Through his years of financial hardship, he was able to continue publishing papers—his most productive years were 1884 and 1885, with 79 and 62 papers published, respectively. The 1880s marked the publication of two of the best-known fossil taxa described by Cope: the pelycosaur Edaphosaurus in 1882 and
32736-424: Was created to investigate Powell's alleged misallocation of funds, while Cope and Marsh were not held responsible for any mistakes. Indirectly, however, the attacks may have been influential in Marsh's fall from power in the survey. Due to pressure from Powell over bad press, Marsh was removed from his position for the government surveys. Cope's relations with the president of the University of Pennsylvania soured, and
32922-404: Was donated to the American Anthropometric Society and is still preserved in alcohol at the Wistar Institute . His skull is at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. His ashes were placed at the institute with those of Leidy, while his bones were extracted and kept in a locked drawer to be studied by anatomy students. In 1907, Edward Anthony Spitzka published
33108-568: Was in Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, followed by additional colonial establishments on the east coast from present-day Georgia in the south to Massachusetts in the north, forming the Thirteen Colonies of British America. The English did not establish settlements north or east of the St. Lawrence Valley in present-day Canada until after the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War . Britain's early settlements in present-day Canada included St. John's, Newfoundland in 1630 and Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1749. The first permanent French settlement
33294-413: Was inherent. Cope was against the modern view of women's rights , believing in the husband's role as protector; he was opposed to women's suffrage, as he felt they would be unduly influenced by their husbands, and that it would lead to the retrogression of the race as women took on more "masculine" attributes. In fewer than 40 years as a scientist, Cope published over 1,400 scientific papers,
33480-423: Was married to William H. Collins, a Haverford astronomy professor. The couple's ages—Julia was 28 and the groom 35—were past the conventions of Victorian marriage. After their European honeymoon, the couple returned to Haverford. While Annie moved to Haverford, as well, Cope did not. His official reason was the long commute and late lectures he gave in Philadelphia. In private correspondence, however, Osborn wrote that
33666-402: Was no salary, his findings would be published in the annual reports the surveys printed. Cope brought Annie and Julia along on one such survey, and rented a house for them at Fort Bridger , but he spent more of his own money on these survey trips than he would have liked. Alfred died December 4, 1875, and left Edward with an inheritance of nearly a quarter of a million dollars. Alfred's death
33852-457: Was raised as a Quaker, and was taught that the Bible was literal truth. Although he never confronted his family about their religious views, Osborn writes that Cope was at least aware of the conflict between his scientific career and his religion. Osborn writes: "If Edward harbored intellectual doubts about the literalness of the Bible ... he did not express them in his letters to his family but there can be little question ... that he shared
34038-511: Was sent to a day school in Philadelphia; at 12, he attended the Friends' Boarding School at Westtown , near West Chester, Pennsylvania. The school was founded in 1799 with fundraising by members of the Society of Friends (Quakers), and provided much of the Cope family's education. The prestigious school was expensive, costing Alfred $ 500 in tuition each year, and in his first year, Edward studied algebra, chemistry, scripture, physiology, grammar, astronomy, and Latin. Edward's letters home requesting
34224-419: Was still much smaller than Marsh's collection, valued at over a million dollars. The University of Pennsylvania bought part of Cope's ethnological artifact collection for $ 5,500. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia's foremost museum, did not bid on any of Cope's sales due to bad blood between Cope and the museum's leaders; as a result, many of Cope's major finds left the city. Cope's proceeds from
34410-416: Was the first European to suggest that the Americas represented a landmass not then known to the Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller published a world map, and placed the word "America" on the continent of present-day South America. The continent north of present-day Mexico was then referred to as Parias. On a 1553 world map published by Petrus Apianus , North America was called "Baccalearum", meaning "realm of
34596-502: Was to bury my own dead, even my firstborn son, but I had never sorrowed more deeply than I did over the news." Cope's Quaker funeral consisted of six men: Osborn, his colleague William Berryman Scott , Cope's friend Persifor Frazer, son-in-law Collins, Horatio Wood , and Harrison Allen . The six sat around Cope's coffin among the fossils and Cope's pets, a tortoise and a Gila monster , for what Osborn called "a perfect Quaker silence ... an interminable length of time." Anticipating
#455544