title: Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876) and evolution.
abstract: The research program of Karl Ernst von Baer (1792-1876) intended to enhance the comparative approach of animal classification by demonstrating vertebrate affinities (homology). Baer visualized his ideas on development and evolution with an unpublished figure of a branching tree. To buttress his reflections on how species-specific embryogenesis produces a branching tree, he worked out a cladogram-like chart, depicting the ontogeny and phylogeny of vertebrate embryos. For Baer, changes in development were responsible for changes in phenotype. I will offer a new interpretation of Baer's ideas about evolution showing that he believed in the transformation of species and announced such views publicly.
authors: Science Centre, Tartu University Library, Tartu, Estonia. sabine.brauckmann@ut.ee
authors: Sabine
authors: S
authors: Brauckmann
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D015509:Developmental Biology / Q000266:history*; D047108:Embryonic Development; D049672:History, 19th Century; D010802:Phylogeny