Georges, Baron Cuvier summary

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Georges, Baron Cuvier, (born Aug. 23, 1769, Montbéliard [now in France]—died May 13, 1832, Paris, France), French zoologist and statesman who established the sciences of comparative anatomy and paleontology. As a staff member at the Museum of Natural History in Paris, he published Le Règne animal distribué d’après son organisation (1817), which described his “correlation of parts” theory, in which every animal organ is functionally related to all the other organs and that an animal’s functions and habits determine its anatomic form. Cuvier’s classification of all animals into four completely discrete groups was a significant advance over the system of Carolus Linnaeus. He applied his functional concept to the study of fossils, postulating that huge land upheavals and floods were the principal factor in the creation and destruction of species. Though the theory did not last, Cuvier’s work put paleontology on a firm empirical foundation. As Napoleon’s inspector of public instruction, he helped establish France’s provincial universities, and he also served as chancellor of the University of Paris.

fossil Summary

Fossil, remnant, impression, or trace of an animal or plant of a past geologic age that has been preserved in Earth’s crust. The complex of data recorded in fossils worldwide—known as the fossil record—is the primary source of information about the history of life on Earth. Only a small fraction of

taxonomy Summary

Taxonomy, in a broad sense the science of classification, but more strictly the classification of living and extinct organisms—i.e., biological classification. The term is derived from the Greek taxis (“arrangement”) and nomos (“law”). Taxonomy is, therefore, the methodology and principles of

animal Summary

Animal, (kingdom Animalia), any of a group of multicellular eukaryotic organisms (i.e., as distinct from bacteria, their deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is contained in a membrane-bound nucleus). They are thought to have evolved independently from the unicellular eukaryotes. Animals differ from

zoology Summary

Zoology, branch of biology that studies the members of the animal kingdom and animal life in general. It includes both the inquiry into individual animals and their constituent parts, even to the molecular level, and the inquiry into animal populations, entire faunas, and the relationships of