# Mr. Waterhouse — The Origin of Species character guide

> Mr. Waterhouse in The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** Mr. Waterhouse

**First appearance:** 0004-i-variation-under-domestication

## Who they are

A naturalist who studied mammals and beetles.

## In the story

### [Divergence of Character](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/divergence-of-character)

Waterhouse is cited for his observation that Australian marsupials feebly represent carnivorous, ruminant, and rodent mammals, illustrating an early stage of diversification.

### [A Part Developed in Any Species in an Extraordinary Degree or Manner, in Comparison with the Same Part in Allied Species, Tends to Be Highly Variable](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/a-part-developed-in-any-species-in-an-extraordinary-degree-or-manner-in-comparison-with-the-same-part-in-allied-species-tends-to-be-highly-variable)

Darwin credits Mr. Waterhouse with first remarking on the rule that extraordinarily developed parts are highly variable.

### [Cell-Making Instinct of the Hive-Bee](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/cell-making-instinct-of-the-hive-bee)

Showed that the form of the cell is closely related to the presence of adjoining cells, prompting Darwin's investigation.

### [On the Nature of the Affinities Connecting Organic Beings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/chapters/on-the-nature-of-the-affinities-connecting-organic-beings)

Mr. Waterhouse's remarks on the general affinities of the bizcacha to Marsupials and of Phascolomys to Rodents are used to discuss inheritance from common progenitors.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters/waterhouse
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_origin_of_species_se/characters