Creator
Richard Owen (1804–1892).
Title
Monograph on the Aye-Aye (Chiromys madagascariensis, Cuvier).
Publisher
London: Printed by Taylor and Francis,
Date
1863.
Description
Provenance: Inscribed to The Rev. Dr. Whewell, F.R.S. “from his friend, the Author.”
Four years after Darwin’s Origin of Species, Richard Owen published this work on the aye-aye, a rare lemur with large ears and a long finger used to locate and extract grubs from wood. In opposition to Darwin, Owen ascribed the animal’s adaptations to a creationist origin rather than to natural selection.
For over fifty years, I have been fascinated by the contentious history of evolutionary biology, and have collected books published before and after Darwin’s Origin. William Whewell (1794-1866) had a profound influence on Darwin’s arguments in the Origin, but like his friend Owen, he was an anti-evolutionist. The aye-aye genome published in 2011 confirms that man shares a common ancestor, strong evidence for natural selection!
Four years after Darwin’s Origin of Species, Richard Owen published this work on the aye-aye, a rare lemur with large ears and a long finger used to locate and extract grubs from wood. In opposition to Darwin, Owen ascribed the animal’s adaptations to a creationist origin rather than to natural selection.
For over fifty years, I have been fascinated by the contentious history of evolutionary biology, and have collected books published before and after Darwin’s Origin. William Whewell (1794-1866) had a profound influence on Darwin’s arguments in the Origin, but like his friend Owen, he was an anti-evolutionist. The aye-aye genome published in 2011 confirms that man shares a common ancestor, strong evidence for natural selection!
Source
Robert L. Chevalier