CUVIER. l6l 



understand. It is found from the study of living animals, 

 where all the parts of the organism can be investigated as 

 a whole, that certain organs or structures are found associ- 

 ated with one another, or, at any rate, are never found 

 apart. In the case of fossil animals, we never have more 

 than certain parts of the organism preserved. We never, 

 save in such exceptional instances as the preservation of 

 the bodies of animals in the frozen soil of Siberia, have the 

 opportunity of examining the whole organism. By the 

 help, however, of the law of ' the correlation of organs,' we 

 can 'reconstruct' the animal from its fragments. If we 

 find certain structures preserved in the fossil, we can infer 

 that certain other correlated parts must have been present. 

 Thus, from a single molar tooth it may be possible to 

 infer the form of the jaw, the structure of the limbs, and, 

 in fact, the general features of the organisation. Those 

 who wish to learn with what precision and certainty an 

 extinct animal may in this way be ' reconstructed ' from 

 its fragmentary remains, can easily satisfy their curiosity 

 by reference to the pages of the ' Ossemens fossiles ' of 

 Cuvier, or to the works of his illustrious disciple, Sir 

 Richard Owen. 



It should be pointed out, however, as indeed was 

 recognised by both Cuvier and Owen, that the law of 

 correlation of organs can only be applied in practice with 

 certain reservations, of which the following are the most 

 important : In the first place, the law is a purely empirical 

 one, and is based wholly upon the results of observation 

 and experience. Having, therefore, no rational basis, it 

 is always liable to be overthrown in particular instances 

 by more extensive observation, though its validity as a 



K. 



