Lamarck and His System

Abstract

Lamarck deserves a better place in biology. It is true that he surmised, mistakenly, that an animal could pass on to coming generations characteristics it acquired during its existence. Yet despite Lamarck’s well-known fantasy, he did spawn further interest in evolution when, at the turn of the century in 1801, he wrote his classic Systemé des Animaux sans Vertebres, or “System for Animals without Vertebras.” This volume presented the scientific world with some of his preliminary thoughts on evolution and, equally significantly, implied a taxonomic system for invertebrates. Also, one must not forget that he coined the term “biology” as well.