Georges Cuvier showed that the life of the past was not necessarily the same as that of the present.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent, high-quality sources (Britannica, UC Berkeley, NPS, Linda Hall Library) corroborate that Cuvier established extinction as a real phenomenon and demonstrated past life differed from present life, primarily via comparative anatomy of fossil vertebrates.
Sources
- Paleontology (en.wikipedia.org)
- https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/cuvier.html (ucmp.berkeley.edu)
- https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/georges-cuvier/ (lindahall.org)
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/geologic-principles-organic-extinction.htm (nps.gov)