Why Brazil is not ready for the Twenty-First Century Taxonomy: a zoological view

Abstract

Taxonomy has suffered from a lack of funds, attracting fewer students, and has been considered by some a mere descriptive field, a second-class science. Many authors have extensively pointed out the urgency of increasing our knowledge of biodiversity. Recently, a movement integrating researchers, institutes, and collections arose for addressing the biodiversity crisis and raising the status of taxonomy to ‘Big Science’. This article discusses some impediments that are preventing Brazil entering the new era of taxonomy.