title: A history of entomological classification.
abstract: The classification of insects has attempted to most effectively communicate information about this hyperdiverse lineage of life and, not surprisingly, has had a considerably rich historical development. This history can be coarsely segregated into four periods: the Pre-Linnean era, the first century spanning Linnaeus's Systema Naturae to Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the Darwinian era up to the Cladistic Revolution, and the Hennigian era leading to today. The major events of each of these episodes are briefly summarized and some of the more notable researchers highlighted, along with their influence on our current understanding of insect relationships and how this is reflected in the current classification of the Hexapoda.
authors: Division of Entomology, Natural History Museum, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, USA. msengel@ku.edu
authors: Michael S
authors: MS
authors: Engel
authors: Niels P
authors: NP
authors: Kristensen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004772:Entomology / Q000266:history*; D049669:History, 16th Century; D049670:History, 17th Century; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D007313:Insecta / Q000145:classification*