French comparative anatomist who is considered the founder of functional anatomy, which maintains that the knowledge of structure acquires meaning only when the purpose is known. His study of comparative anatomy allowed him to draw conclusions about one part of an organism from investigating other parts. A famous story tells how his students dressed up in a devil's costume and woke up Cuvier in the middle of the night, chanting "Cuvier, Cuvier, I have come to eat you." Reportedly, Cuvier opened his eyes, remarked "All creatures with horns and hooves are herbivores. You can't eat me," and went back to sleep.

Cuvier extended the classification scheme of Linnaeus by grouping related classes into phyla. He extended this system to fossils, which he recognized as the organic remains of animals now extinct, including the ground sloth and pterodactyl. He is therefore known as the father of paleontology. Cuvier believed that "animals have certain fixed and natural characters," and therefore rejected both the theory of evolution and Lamarck's theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics. In "Essay on the Theory of the Earth," he proposed that life was created anew after periodic advances and retreats of the sea. Cuvier is supposed to have virtually memorized the 19,000 volumes in his library.

Lamarck, Linnaeus