November 12, 2014 - 16:19
Chapter 2, The Mastodon's Molars, is about Cuvier’s discoveries that led to concept of extinction. The text makes the claim that catastrophes during earth’s history has wiped out lost species whose bones we now have as evidence of their previous existence. Because animals have adapted to function in their given environment, Cuvier argued that a catastrophe so cataclysmic would change an environment enough to where that species would no longer be capable to function and survive in its new habitat. Although Cuvier did not have as much evidence as we have today, he was correct in asserting that catastrophes caused the extinction of species. In fact, the mastodon, which was cuvier’s first discovered extinct species, was wiped out during the same period that humans were spreading. It seems that our invasions have led to extinction of entire species starting long ago.