Cuvier, Georges LEopold ChrEtien FrEdEric Dagobert, Baron, Paleontology, Biographies

Related Category: Paleontology, Biographies

Cuvier, Georges LEopold ChrEtien FrEdEric Dagobert, Baron[zhOrzh lAOpOld´ krAtyaN´ frAdArEk´ dAgOber´ bArON´ kUvyA´] Pronunciation Key, 1769–1832, French naturalist, b. MontbEliard, studied at the academy of Stuttgart. From 1795 he taught in the Jardin des Plantes. He became permanent secretary (1803) of the Academy of Sciences and later was made chancellor of the Univ. of Paris. A pioneer in the science of comparative anatomy, he originated a system of zoological classification that comprised four phyla based on differences in structure of the skeleton and organs. His reconstruction of the soft parts of fossils deduced from their skeletal remains greatly advanced the science of paleontology. The flying reptile pterodactyl (see pterosaur) was identified and named by Cuvier. He rejected the theory of evolution in favor of catastrophism. Cuvier held various high posts in the government and did much to develop higher education in France. Among his more important works are Tableau ElEmentaire de l'histoire naturelle des animaux (1798); MEmoires sur les espEces d'ElEphants vivants et fossiles (1800); with A. M. C. Dumeril and G. L. Duvernoy, LeCons d'anatomie comparEe (5 vol., 1801–5); Recherches sur les ossements fossiles des quadrupEdes (1812); and Le REgne animal destribuE d'aprEs son organisation (1817).

See study by W. Coleman (1964).