Biology and Its Makers: With Portraits and Other IllustrationsLocy, William A. (William Albert)
History
Biology and Its Makers: With Portraits and Other Illustrations
Locy, William A. (William Albert)
Biology -- History
Correlation of Parts.--An important idea, first clearly expressed
by Cuvier, was that of correlation of parts. The view that the
different parts of an animal are so correlated that a change in one,
brought about through changes in use, involves a change in another.
For illustration, the cleft hoof is always associated with certain
forms of teeth and with the stomach of a ruminant. The sharp claws
of flesh-eating animals are associated with sharp, cutting teeth for
tearing the flesh of the victims, and with an alimentary tube adapted
to the digestion of a fleshy diet. Further account of Cuvier is
reserved for the chapter on the Rise of Comparative Anatomy, of which
he was the founder.
Von Baer.--The next notable advance affecting natural history came
through the work of Von Baer, who, in 1828, founded the science of
development of animal forms. He arrived at substantially the same
conclusions as Cuvier. Thus the system founded upon comparative anatomy
by Cuvier came to have the support of Von Baer's studies in embryology.
The contributions of these men proved to be a turning-point in natural
history, and subsequent progress in systematic botany and zoölogy
resulted from the application of the methods of Cuvier and Von Baer,
rather than from following that of Linnæus. His nomenclature remained
a permanent contribution of value, but the knowledge of the nature
of living forms has been advanced chiefly by studies in comparative
anatomy and embryology, and, also, in the application of experiments.
The most significant advances in reference to the classification of
animals was to come as a result of the acceptance of the doctrine
of organic evolution, subsequent to 1859. Then the relationships
between animals were made to depend upon community of descent, and a
distinction was drawn between superficial or apparent relationships
and those deep-seated characteristics that depend upon close genetic
affinities.
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