Cuvier, GeorgesLéopoldChrétienFrédericDagobert, Baron

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Cuvier, GeorgesLéopoldChrétienFrédericDagobert, Baron (1769–1832)A French naturalist who was one of the founders of the disciplines of comparative anatomy and palaeontology. His studies of marine fauna led to detailed work on the structure and classification of Mollusca and the anatomy of fishes. Later he turned his attention to fossil vertebrates and then to living members of those groups, eventually describing the structure of all known animal groups. He believed each species and each organ was created for a particular purpose and extinctions were caused by catastrophes, the affected areas being recolonized by immigration.

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Cuvier, GeorgesLéopoldChrétienFrédericDagobert, Baron

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