The study of fossil organized remains has hitherto been directed too exclusively to the consideration of the specimens themselves; and hence has been considered rather as an appendix to botany and zoology, than as (what it really is) a very important branch of geological inquiry.

Observations on Some of the Strata in the Neighborhood of London, and, on the Fossil Remains Contained in Them, Geological Society of London Transactions, Volume 1, 1811 (p. 324)