The History of Ichthyology 423 



First Period. — The Work of Louis Agassiz. — The real beginning 

 of our knowledge of fossil fishes dates from the pubHcation 

 of the classic volumes of Agassiz, " Recherches sur les Poissons 

 Fossiles (Neuchitel, 1833-44)." There had previously existed 

 but a fragmentary and widely scattered Uterature; the time 

 was ripe for a great work which should bring together a 

 knowledge of this important vertebrate fauna and the mu- 

 seums throughout Europe had been steadily growing in their 

 collections of fossils. Especially ripe, too, since the work of 

 Cuvier (1769-1832) had been completed and the classic an- 

 atomical papers of J. Miiller (1802-56) were appearing. And 

 Agassiz (1807-73) was eminently the man for this mission. 

 At the age of one and twenty he had already mapped out the 

 work, and from this time he devoted sixteen active years to 

 its accomplishment. One gets but a just idea of the person- 

 ality of Agassiz when he recalls that the young investigator 

 while in an almost penniless position contrived to travel over 

 a large part of Europe, mingle with the best people of his day, 

 devote almost his entire time to research, employ draughts- 

 men and lithographers, support his own printing-house, and in 

 the end publish his " Poissons Fossiles " in a fashion which would 

 have done credit to the wealthiest amateur. With tireless 

 energy he collected voluminous notes and drawings number- 

 less; he corresponded with collectors all over Europe and 

 prevailed upon them to loan him tons of specimens; in the 

 meanwhile he collated industriously the early but fragmental 

 literature in such works as those of de Blainville, Munster, 

 Murchison, Buckland, Egerton, Redfield, W. C. Williamson, 

 and others. Hitherto less than 300 species of fossil fishes were 

 known; at the end of Agassiz's work about 900 were described 

 and many of them figured. 



It is easy to see that such a work made a ready basis of 

 future studies. Doubtless, too, much is owing to the personal 

 energy of Agassiz that such keen interest was focused in the 

 collection and study of fossil fishes during the middle of the 

 nineteenth century. The actual value of Agassiz's work can 

 hardly be overestimated; his figures and descriptions are usu- 

 ally clear and accurate. And it is remarkable, perhaps, that 

 in view of the very wide field which he covered that his errors 



