> There is reasonable agreement among taxonomists that a species should represent a distinct evolutionary lineage. But there is none about how a lineage should be defined. 'Species' are often created or dismissed arbitrarily, according to the individual taxonomist's adherence to one of at least 30 definitions [2]. Crucially, there is no global oversight of taxonomic decisions — researchers can 'split or lump' species with no consideration of the consequences.
The referenced book Species Concepts in Biology [2] by Frank E. Zachos looks like an interesting source on this topic. In computer science we know that naming things is hard; slotting things into hierarchical categories is hard too.
[2] https://www.hugendubel.info/annotstream/2244011436320/PDF/Za...