72 



Recherche s sur les Pais sons Fossiles. 



Yet we may remark in general, that there is hardly a single 

 family, a small number of species of which do not represent 

 some genus, which is afterwards to appear. I cite, for ex- 

 ample, the family of the Labres as they now exist. 



In order therefore to account for the affinities of families 

 when explaining the character of genera, I have anticipated 

 here the views I have to give relative to development, in the 

 chapter on classification in another part of the work. I pro- 

 pose afterwards to examine the general bases on which all 

 the classifications in Natural History repose.* 



We have now perhaps introduced enough from the Re- 

 cherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, to afford an idea of the 

 great labour bestowed on the subject by M. Agassiz, the great 

 interest and importance of the subject itself, and of the me- 

 thod pursued by M. Agassiz in the inquiry. It remains for us, 

 therefore, to place the subject practically before our readers, 

 as far as it is possible in a brief shape, so as to enable 

 them to follow in our author's footsteps, or at least to con- 



* This will be a task of no small importance, and we doubt not the 

 original views of M. Agassiz, together with his experience in one im- 

 portant branch of Zoology, that of fossil fishes, will enable him to con- 

 tribute several interesting facts relative to the general alBBnities and 

 relations of this class of animals. Already we perceive several observa- 

 tions of the very highest interest in the Recherches sur les Poissons 

 Fossiles of this author, bearing on the great question of natural classi- 

 fication ; we allude to the successive repetition under different modifica- 

 tions of the types of the first order of M. Agassiz, the Ganoides, through- 

 out the subsequent orders. This, if it should be confirmed by further 

 labours, we regard as a discovery of greater importance than any that 

 has been recently made in Zoology. But we are far from viewing it as 

 supporting the doctrine of the progressive development of animals, as it 

 is evidently regarded by M. Agassiz, but rather as confirming, from the 

 study of fossil fishes, the existence of Primary Types, one of the princi - 

 ples upon which the system developed in the Hoj'cs Entomologies of 

 Mr. Leay is based. As this system must of course come under the 

 notice of M. Agassiz in the proposed review, we long for the re- 

 sult. 



