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BLAINVILLE

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Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 139 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BLAINVILLE . He divided the " oviparous subtype " of Vertebrates into four classes, Birds, See also:

Reptiles, Amphibians and Fishes,' a modification of the See also:system which is all the more significant as he designates the reptiles " Squammiferes Ornithoides, ecailleux," and the amphibians " Nudipelliferes, Ichthyoides nus." In these terms we perceive clear indications of the relations which exist to the class of birds on the one See also:hand, and to that of fishes on the other; but, unfortunately, Blainville himself did not follow up the ideas thus expressed, and abandoned even the terms in a later edition of his systematic tables. The See also:direct or indirect See also:influence of the See also:work of See also:French anatomists manifested itself in the systems of the other herpetologists of this See also:period. The Crocodiles, especially, which hitherto (See also:strange to say, even in See also:Cuvier's See also:classification) had been placed as one of the families of Saurians, now commence to be separated from them. MERREM (Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien, See also:Marburg, 182o, 8vo) distinguishes two classes of " Amphibians," Pholidota and See also:Batrachia. The Pholidota (or Reptiles) are divided into three orders, distinguished chiefly by osteological and splanchnological characters: I. TESTUDINATA. 2. LoRICATA (=Crocodiles). 3. SQUAMATA (=See also:Oppel's Squamata, excluding Crocodiles). Merrem's subdivision of the Squamata into (1) Gradientia (=limbed Lacertilia), (2) Repentia (=limbless Lacertilia), (3) Serpentia (=See also:Snakes and See also:Amphisbaena), (4) Incedentia (=Chirotes), and (5) Predentia (=Chamaeleons) was based chiefly on the modifications of the limbs, and not adopted by his successors.

The greater See also:

part of his work is occupied with a synopsis of all the See also:species of Reptiles known, each being shortly characterized by a diagnosis; but, as only a small proportion (about one See also:hundred and seventy) were known to him from See also:autopsy, this synopsis has all the faults of a compilation.

End of Article: BLAINVILLE

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BLAINVILLE, HENRI MARIE DUCROTAY DE (1777–1850)

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