Evolutionary taxonomy is a branch of taxonomy that has developed over time. It is based on the principles of an evolutionary theory that organisms evolve over time, and therefore it is essential to understand their evolutionary history in order to properly classify them. There are a few synonyms for the term evolutionary taxonomy such as cladistics, systematics, and phylogenetics, which all seek to provide an understanding of the relationships between species and their evolutionary history. Cladistics refers to the classification of organisms based on their shared derived characteristics. Systematics refers to the study of the diversity of life on Earth and the relationships between species, while phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relationships between species.