Explain the role of cuvier in animal taxonomy?
Cuvier (1769-1832) was critical of Lamarck's evolutionary concept which thereafter remained in oblivion for half a century. Cuvier's outright criticisms of Lamarck greatly affected the progress of animal taxonomy during that period. And the following decades were known by emergence of three great ideas which influence a lot of progress in animal taxonomy. The first of these was 'Von Baer's Law' which was put forward by Von Baer. The, theory states that "The younger the embryo the more closely did it resemble other embryos of the same stage of development."
The second idea was an explanation of this rule by Ernst Hackel, which is known as Recapitulation theory or "Ontogeny repeats phylogeny".