Page "Linnaean taxonomy" Paragraph 52

Over time, the understanding of the relationships between living things has changed.

Linnaeus could only base his scheme on the structural similarities of the different organisms.

The greatest change was the widespread acceptance of evolution as the mechanism of biological diversity and species formation, following the 1859 publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

It then became generally understood that classifications ought to reflect the phylogeny of organisms, their descent by evolution.

This led to evolutionary taxonomy, where the various extant and extinct are linked together to construct a phylogeny.

This is largely what is meant by the term ' Linnaean taxonomy ' when used in a modern context.