Biological Barcodes New methods of species identification

In the mid 18th century, Swedish naturalist Carol Linnaeus’s work Systema Naturae introduced the binomial (two-part) system of biological nomenclature, set forth descriptions of some 7700 plant and 4000 animal species, and thereby laid the foundations of modern taxonomy. In the 230 years since them, researchers have cataloged a total of some 1.7 million species of eukaryotes, or organisms whose cells possess clear cellular nuclei (a group that includes plants, fungi, and animals). Still, that figure is not high when one considers that the number of living eukaryote species is estimated at least 10 million!