Reconciling hierarchical taxonomy with molecular phylogenies

Taxonomy has a history dating back to Aristotle (350BC) and has facilitated a wide range of developments in the biological sciences. Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae assumed that organisms were static creations of God and formulated the hierarchical framework of classification that we currently use. Today we know that organisms continuously evolve and it is generally accepted that these hierarchies are arbitrary constructs (Coyne and Orr 2004). The arbitrary nature of these higher taxonomic ranks does not prevent their practical use with regards to cataloguing, and communicating about, biological diversity, provided such arbitrary decisions are made on a consistent basis. However, current taxonomic hierarchies are suggested to be inconsistent, both between and within major clades (Avise and Liu 2011), reflecting the work of systematists with diverging views regarding the constitution of higher taxonomic ranks. In this study, we present a comprehensive analysis of the overall levels of consiste...