The integrative future of taxonomy

1.6kCitations
Citations of this article
1.7kReaders
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Background: Taxonomy is the biological discipline that identifies, describes, classifies and names extant and extinct species and other taxa. Nowadays, species taxonomy is confronted with the challenge to fully incorporate new theory, methods and data from disciplines that study the origin, limits and evolution of species.Results: Integrative taxonomy has been proposed as a framework to bring together these conceptual and methodological developments. Here we review perspectives for an integrative taxonomy that directly bear on what species are, how they can be discovered, and how much diversity is on Earth.Conclusions: We conclude that taxonomy needs to be pluralistic to improve species discovery and description, and to develop novel protocols to produce the much-needed inventory of life in a reasonable time. To cope with the large number of candidate species revealed by molecular studies of eukaryotes, we propose a classification scheme for those units that will facilitate the subsequent assembly of data sets for the formal description of new species under the Linnaean system, and will ultimately integrate the activities of taxonomists and molecular biologists. © 2010 Padial et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Padial, J. M., Miralles, A., De la Riva, I., & Vences, M. (2010, May 25). The integrative future of taxonomy. Frontiers in Zoology. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-7-16

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free