- Cuvier , G. 1812 . Recherches sur les ossemens fossiles de quadrupèdes, ou l'on rétablit les caractères de plusieurs espèces d'animaux que les révolutions du globe paroissent avoir détruites Paris The first edition consisted of four volumes. A revised and enlarged second edition was published in 1821–1824 in five volumes. This second edition was reprinted as soon as 1825.
- The lecture was printed several years later under the title Mémoire sur les espèces d'éléphans vivantes et fossiles Mémoires de l'Institut National des Sciences et Arts, Sciences mathématiques et physiques 1799 2 1 22
- Already in 1785, Petrus Camper had argued that the African and the Indian elephant must belong to different species. Camper based his distinction on the structure of the molars; see Visser R.P.W. The Zoological Work of Petrus Camper (1722–1789) Amsterdam 1985 56 57 Cuvier based his claim not only on the molars, but on the structure of the entire skull.
- For the greater part, my account is based on Coleman W. Georges Cuvier—Zoologist: a study in the History of Evolution Theory Cambridge, Mass. 1964 especially chapters 2 and 3
- Cuvier , G. 1817 . Le règne animal distribué d'après son organisation: pour servir de base à l'histoire naturelle des animaux et d'introduction à l'anatomie comparée Vol. I , 6 – 6 . Paris 4 vols
- The ‘Discours préliminaire’ was later published separately, in a slightly changed form, under the title Discours sur les révolutions de la surface du globe, et sur les changemens qu'elles ont produits dans le règne animal Paris 1821 I have used the third edition (Paris, 1825).
- Cuvier . 1896 . Lavoisier, 1743–94 , second edition 95 – 95 . Paris
- Cuvier . 1896 . Lavoisier, 1743–94 , second edition 102 – 102 . Paris
- Cuvier . 1896 . Lavoisier, 1743–94 , second edition 105 – 105 . Paris
- Russell , E.S. 1916 . Form and function: a contribution to the history of animal morphology 31 – 44 . London H. Daudin, Cuvier et Lamarck: les classes zoologiques et l'idée de série animale (1790–1880), 2 vols (Paris, 1926), II, 3–68.
- Russell . 1916 . Form and function: a contribution to the history of animal morphology 35 – 35 . London
- For an enlightening analysis of Kant's concept of teleology and his views on the problems of design in nature, see Zumbach C. The Transcendent Science: Kant's Conception of Biological Methodology The Hague 1984
- Daudin . 1916 . Form and function: a contribution to the history of animal morphology 12 – 68 . London
- See H. E. Le Grand Theory and Application: the Early Chemical Work of J.A.C. Chaptal British Journal for the History of Science 1984 17 31 46 Cuvier's palaeontological work is discussed in chapter 4.
- Coleman . 1964 . Georges Cuvier—Zoologist: a study in the History of Evolution Theory 121 – 121 . Cambridge, Mass.
- Coleman . 1964 . Georges Cuvier—Zoologist: a study in the History of Evolution Theory 126 – 126 . Cambridge, Mass.
- Rudwick , M.J.S. 1972 . The Meaning of Fossils: Episodes in the History of Palaeontology London chapter 3
- Rudwick , M.J.S. 1972 . The Meaning of Fossils: Episodes in the History of Palaeontology 113 – 115 . London
- The history of the finds of Mosasaurus fossils near Maastricht has been described by van Regteren Altena C.O. Achttiende-eeuwse verzamelaars van fossielen te Maastricht en het lot hunner collecties Publicaties van het Natuurhistorisch Genootschap in Limburg 1956 9 83 112
- Camper , A.G. 1800 . Sur les ossemens fossiles de la Montagne de St. Pierre à Maestricht . Journal de physique, de chimie, d'histoire naturelle et des arts , 51 : 279 – 287 .
- The interpretations of A. G. Camper's predecessors are more extensively discussed in Visser Theory and Application: the Early Chemical Work of J.A.C. Chaptal British Journal for the History of Science 1984 17 127 132
- For more information on Camper's investigations of the mosasaur, see Theunissen B. A. G. Camper, Cuvier en het Mosasaurusvraagstuk: een case-study van Cuviers paleontologie Tijdschrift voor de geschiedenis van de geneeskunde, natuurwetenschappen, wiskunde en techniek 1984 7 65 65 78.
- Cuvier's letters to Camper are kept in the University Library of Amsterdam [hereafter ULA]. Camper's letters to Cuvier form part of the Fonds Cuvier of the Bibliothèque de l'Institut de France in Paris. A calendar of the Camper-Cuvier correspondence is supplied in Theunissen B. De briefwisseling tussen A. G. Camper en G. Cuvier Tijdschrift voor de geschiedenis van de geneeskunde, natuurwetenschappen, wiskunde en techniek 1980 3 155 177
- Cuvier to Camper October 1800 18 (ULA, x.48.j.).
- Cuvier to Camper, January 10, 1800 (ULA, x.48.k.). The report on the vertebrae from Sichem was prepared, by order of the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris, by J. P. Minckelers, teacher of natural history at the École centrale in Maastricht. See Spekkens J.P.L. L'école centrale du département de la Meuse Inférieure, Maëstricht 1798–1804 Maastricht 1951 127 131 See also J. Cremers, ‘Uit Limburg's verleden en heden’, Jaarboek 1916 Natuurhistorisch Genootschap in Limburg (Maastricht, 1917), pp. 97–116. This publication contains the full text of Minckelers's report.
- Cuvier , G. 1808 . Sur le grand animal fossile des carrières de Maestricht . Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle , 12 : 145 – 276 .
- I have not been able to locate the manuscript in question. Fortunately, however, the Camper papers in the University Library of Amsterdam contain a Dutch version of the article, which Camper used for the French translation. The title of this manuscript is Verhandeling over de structuur van het geraamte der reusachtige Hagedissoorten uit de steengroeven van Maastricht, tot opheldering van sommige bijzonderheden, en betoog, dat meer dan eene soort in dezelve bedolven ligt
- The passage has been translated from the original Dutch Verhandeling over de structuur van het geraamte der reusachtige Hagedissoorten uit de steengroeven van Maastricht, tot opheldering van sommige bijzonderheden, en betoog, dat meer dan eene soort in dezelve bedolven ligt
- Cuvier to Camper 1812 February 7 (ULA, x.48.v.).
- Camper , A.G. 1812 . Mémoire sur quelques parties moins connues du squelette des Sauriens fossiles de Maestricht . Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle , 19 : 215 – 241 . (237).
- See Delair J.B. Sarjeant W.A.S. The earliest discoveries of dinosaurs Isis 1975 66 5 25 For another example of the shortcomings of Cuvier's principles from a present-day perspective, see A. J. Cain, ‘Deductive and inductive methods in post-Linnaean taxonomy’, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, 170 (1957–1958), 185–217 (186–204).
- Balan , B. 1979 . L'ordre et le temps: l'anatomie comparée et l'histoire des vivants au XIXe siècle 393 – 430 . Paris
- Balan , B. 1979 . L'ordre et le temps: l'anatomie comparée et l'histoire des vivants au XIXe siècle 418 – 418 . Paris
- Cuvier . 1808 . Sur le grand animal fossile des carrières de Maestricht . Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle , 12 : 175 – 175 .
- Outram , D. 1976 . Scientific biography and the case of Georges Cuvier: with a critical bibliography . History of Science , 14 : 101 – 137 . Recently Outram has convincingly argued that the Discours préliminaire formed ‘a vital element in the development of Cuvier's self-presentation as a savant’; see her Georges Cuvier: Vocation, Science and Authority in Post-revolutionary France (Manchester, 1984), pp. 141–60 (p. 143).
- Ducrotay de Blainville , H.M. 1847 . Histoire des sciences de l'organisation et de leur progrè, comme base de la philosophie Vol. 3 , 388 – 411 . Paris III
- Cuvier , G. 1800–1805 . Leçons d'anatomie comparée Vol. 5 , Paris 1 (1800), 47.
- Cuvier , G. 1804 . Mémoire sur le squelette presque entier d'un petit quadrupède du genre de Sarigues, trouvé dans la pierre à plâtre des environs de Paris . Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle , 5 : 277 – 292 . (292).
- Cuvier . 1896 . Lavoisier, 1743–94 , second edition 4 – 4 . Paris Kant had explicitly denied the possibility that biology could acquire the same status as the physical sciences: ‘It is indeed quite certain that we cannot even become sufficiently knowledgeable of, much less provide an explanation of organized beings and their internal possibility according to mere mechanical principles of nature; and we can say boldly that it is alike certain that it is absurd to make any such attempt or to hope that another Newton will arise in the future who will make even the production of a blade of grass understandable by us according to natural laws which no design has ordered; we must absolutely deny this insight to men.’ Quoted from the Critique of Judgment in Zumbach (footnote 12), 79–80. For a different, though not incompatible interpretation of the dedication to Laplace and the allusion to Newton, see Outram, Georges Cuvier (footnote 37), 149–50, 245 n. 55.
Annals of Science
Volume 43, 1986 - Issue 6