Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707–1788), Histoire naturelle, 1789

Histoire naturelle générale et particulière (General and Specific Natural History) is considered the most important work of the French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707–1788). Up to the time of his death, 36 volumes had been published, and a further eight volumes were subsequently published by other editors. In contrast with Carl von Linné, Buffon propounded the view that nature had developed in evolutionary steps and it could not be recorded using a taxonomic system due to its differences and its variety.

Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon (1707–1788), title page, Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière, servant de suite à servant de suite à l'histoire des animaux quadrupeds, Paris 1789; source: Göttinger Digitalisierungszentrum, public domain.