Facts about Taxonomy
The term "systematics" (or "systematic biology") is sometimes used interchangeably with the term taxonomy.
By consistently using a two-word Latin name—the genus name followed by the specific epithet—Linnaeus separated nomenclature from taxonomy.
Cladistic taxonomy or cladism groups organisms by evolutionary relationships, and arranges taxa in an evolutionary tree.
Over time, however, the word taxonomy has come to take on a broader meaning, referring to the classification of things, or the principles underlying the classification.
Mathematically, a hierarchical taxonomy is a tree structure of classifications for a given set of objects.
An important science, taxonomy is basic to all biological disciplines, since each requires the correct names and descriptions of the organisms being studied.
Taxonomy remains a dynamic science, with developing trends, diversity of opinions, and clashing doctrines.
An authoritative definition of taxonomy (as used in biology) is offered by Systematics Agenda 2000: Charting the Biosphere (SA2000), a global initiative to find, describe, and classify the world's species.
Beyond classification, the discipline or science of taxonomy historically included the discovering, naming, and describing of organisms.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Uranus on January 24, 1986, before continuing its journey to Neptune.
The approach he took to the classification of plants in his Historia Plantarum was an important step towards modern taxonomy.