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Until the nineteenth century, the various subjects now known as the life sciences were regarded either as arcane studies which had little impact on ordinary daily life, or as a genteel hobby for the leisured classes. The increasing academic rigour and systematisation brought to the study of botany, zoology and other disciplines, and their adoption in university curricula, are reflected in the books reissued in this series.

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3 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Life Sciences

A Monograph on the Fossil Reptilia of the Mesozoic Formations
  • Richard Owen
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
  • Sir Richard Owen (1804–92) produced a series of monographs on the fossil reptiles found in the Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks of the United Kingdom, describing a wide variety of fossil lizards, turtles, crocodiles, flying reptiles (pterosaurs), marine reptiles and dinosaurs, many of which were new to science and whose names remain in use today. Most of the monographs concentrated on faunas from specific geological formations, but the one Owen began writing as the last in this series, on the Mesozoic Formations (originally published in 1874–7 and gathered together in 1889) described material ranging from the Middle Jurassic through to the Early Cretaceous. It includes the first scientific description of a stegosaurian dinosaur (Omosaurus), which preceded the naming of Stegosaurus from the United States by two years, extensive notes on Jurassic and Cretaceous pterosaurs, and some of the earliest descriptions of the unusual air-filled vertebrae of sauropod dinosaurs.

Description of the Fossil Remains of Mollusca Found in the Chalk of England
  • Cephalopoda
  • Daniel Sharpe
  • Published online:
    05 June 2016
    Print publication:
    27 April 2015
  • The geologist Daniel Sharpe (1806–56) is best remembered for his pioneering work on cleavage and the effects of tectonics on fossils. Tragically, having just been elected President of the Geological Society of London, he died following a riding accident. The Late Cretaceous Chalk Group contains a rich diversity of cephalopods, including many heteromorph ammonites. The oldest parts of the Chalk, formerly known as the Lower Chalk, yield the greatest diversity of ammonites and nautiloids, whereas the younger parts commonly have belemnites. Originally issued between 1853 and 1857, Sharpe's monograph describes and beautifully illustrates ammonites, nautiloids and belemnites, bringing together new taxa and those previously named by continental authors. A sign of its times, taxa are contained in few genera; for example, the ammonites are assigned to Ammonites. However, this problem is easily resolved by using this work in conjunction with Wright and Wright's 1950 revision.

Letters from Alabama (U.S.)
  • Chiefly Relating to Natural History
  • Philip Henry Gosse
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    30 April 2015
  • The English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse (1810–88) spent nine months in 1838–9 in a small town in Alabama where he was the teacher at the local school. His time there was unhappy because of the widespread abuse of slaves he witnessed, the support of the practice by his fellow Methodists being particularly distressing. However, he loved the beauty of his surroundings, and the abundant wildlife, and in 1859 he published this account in the form of nineteen letters. Gosse recounts in detail his voyage from Philadelphia to Mobile, Alabama, and the environment around his new home in the hills, with vivid descriptions of the plants, animals and insects he observed there. He rarely mentions slavery specifically, but the arrogance of the masters and the plight of their 'possessions' is a recurring theme in the work. Other books on natural history by Gosse are also reissued in this series.