'Integrative taxonomy' then and now: A response to Dayrat (2005)

Abstract

Deep misunderstandings still besiege taxonomy after more than 200 years of fruitful output. It has been asserted in this journal that taxonomy should be integrative and conform to a series of restrictive guidelines. We show that taxonomy has been integrative for most of its history although, in our sense, integrative does not mean the indiscriminate pooling of any source of data. The guidelines proposed are not founded in good scientific rationale and can have, if followed, a detrimental effect not only on taxonomy, but also on biology as a whole. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London.