Stop the Abuse of Time! Strict Temporal Banding is not the Future of Rank-Based Classifications in Fungi (Including Lichens) and Other Organisms

Classification is the most important approach to cataloging biological diversity. It serves as a principal means of communication between scientific disciplines, as well as between scientists on one hand and lawmakers and the public on the other. Up to the present, classification of plants, fungi, and animals follows the fundamental principles laid out more than 250 years ago by Linnaeus, with less changes in the formalistic approach although...