ABSTRACT
Our Linnaean classifications can be thought of collectively as an “Ark of Knowledge,” a place where specimens, characters, natural history observations, geographic distribution records, published descriptions-all that is known of higher taxa-can be assembled as a representation of the diversity of species in nature. This ark is the most comprehensive and reliable source of information about species today. It will acquire an even more pervasive and important role in an uncertain future, as environments change and species are lost. In the here and now, it is a baseline of information against which changes in biodiversity can be detected-in the future, a legacy of information about biodiversity bequeathed to our descendants.
