Molecular systematics is the use of molecular genetics to study the evolution of relationships among individuals and species. The goal of systematic studies is to provide insight into the history of groups of organisms and the evolutionary processes that create diversity among species.

For thousands of years, naturalists have looked at the world and attempted to describe and explain biological diversity. This attempt to examine and classify is called systematics—a system for imposing order on the seeming chaos of nature. In 1758 Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus devised a hierarchical classification system using two-part Latin names to categorize plants and animals. This system is still used today. Linnaeus was opposed to the theory of evolution, and his system was originally based on morphological features of structure and form. However, evolutionists rapidly adopted the Linnaean system and developed it into a classification based on phylogenetics, the evolutionary development...