Birds with teeth!

Chrisand, E. "Ichthyornis dispar specimen." 1880.
Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ichthyornis_dispar.jpg

My research into my Genius Hour question continues, and I thought it would be interesting to provide a link to one of O.C. Marsh's important papers defining a new sub-class of fossil birds, the Ordontonithes, or birds with teeth! This paper is important because it helps provide the link between reptiles and birds, providing physical proof of Darwin's theory of evolution. It also was used as a way for certain politicians, such as Hilary Herbert to convince Congress to slash funding of scientific projects. "What are we doing financing books about birds with teeth?" he asks on the floor of Congress.

This rallying cry eventually leads to a reduction in funding and an elimination of the federally funded Department of Paleontology (and with it, Marsh as it's Chief Paleontologist). The paper isn't long, but it's fun to get a glimpse of scientific history.