He did so by applying to fossils the principles of comparative anatomy, asking what light the body shapes of living animals could cast on the shapes of creatures from the past.
他将比较解剖学原则应用于化石上,探寻现存动物的体型是否有助于推断过去生物的体型。
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In a corner of the Big Bone Room, a relatively fresh-looking plaster cast marked "Skull" sat in front of old photos of museum staff handling similar fossils.