Editing Linnaean taxonomy (section)

{{short description|Rank based classification system for organisms}}
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[[File:Linné-Systema Naturae 1735.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The title page of ''Systema Naturae'', Leiden (1735)]]

'''Linnaean taxonomy''' can mean either of two related concepts:
# The particular form of [[Taxonomy (biology)|biological classification]] (taxonomy) set up by [[Carl Linnaeus]], as set forth in his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus there are three kingdoms, divided into ''classes'', and the classes divided into lower ranks in a hierarchical order.
# A term for rank-based classification of organisms, in general. That is, taxonomy in the traditional sense of the word: rank-based [[scientific classification]]. This term is especially used as opposed to [[cladistics|cladistic]] systematics, which groups organisms into [[clade]]s. It is attributed to Linnaeus, although he neither invented the concept of ranked classification (it goes back to [[Plato]] and [[Aristotle]]) nor gave it its present form. In fact, it does not have an exact present form, as "Linnaean taxonomy" as such does not really exist: it is a collective (abstracting) term for what actually are several separate fields, which use similar approaches.

'''Linnaean name''' also has two meanings, depending on the context: it may either refer to a formal name given by Linnaeus (personally), such as [[Giraffa camelopardalis|''Giraffa camelopardalis'' Linnaeus, 1758]]; or a formal name in the accepted nomenclature (as opposed to a modernistic [[clade]] name).