Binomial Names

Binomial nomenclature is used in biology to unify the naming system for all living organisms. It offers a single unique name identification for a species across languages. Taxonomists use binomial nomenclature for identifying or describing a species of organism. This nomenclature is used to develop a scientific name for a species, usually based on the Greek or Latin language.

What do you mean by binomial names?

The identification of organisms is known as nomenclature or scientific nomenclature. It’s difficult to tell where creatures belong in the environment without a correct nomenclature system. Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, created the Binomial Nomenclature system for naming plants and animals. Binomial nomenclature is a Latin term that refers to two different naming systems. In biology, binomial nomenclature is required to provide a single unique name identifier for a species across all languages. Binomial nomenclature is a method of classifying organisms that follows a set of rules. Two names make up the nomenclature; hence, a scientific name is often referred to as a binomial name. According to the binomial nomenclature, plants and animals are named based on two factors: species and genus.

What are the rules for writing the binomial names?

The process of assigning a scientific name to an organism is called binomial nomenclature. The genus and species of an organism are included in this two-part naming method.

The following are the rules to follow when using binomial nomenclatures:

• If handwritten, the full two-part name must be emphasised or underlined.
• If computerised, the full two-part name needs to be italicised.
• Always write the genus name first.
• The genus name’s first letter is always capitalised.
• The name of the species is never capitalised.

Let’s have a look at some examples.

Black bear or just bear is the popular name for the American black bear. Ursus americanus is the scientific name, with Ursus being the genus and Americans being the species.

Mountain lion, puma, and cougar are some common names for North America’s largest cat. It’s a rare cat found from the Yukon to South America. Puma concolor is the scientific name for this cat.

Binomial nomenclature of plants

Plant names usually ends with the plural adjective “aceae,” which is Latin for “family.” The nomenclature adjective must at the very least define the genus or features of the family to which the plant belongs. Spinach (common name) is one example of this. Its scientific term is Spinacia oleracea.

The scientific names of some of the common plants are:

Binomial nomenclature of animals

Animals have a naming system that is comparable to that of plants. The genus occurs first in a scientific name followed by the species name. The exception is that the scientific names of plants cannot include two identical elements of the binomial name, whereas this is permitted in the scientific names of animals. The American Bison, for example, has the scientific name Bison bison, indicating that the animal’s genus and species names are the same.

The scientific names of some of the common animals are:

Uses of the scientific name 

Binomial nomenclature is a scientific method wherein all living organisms, such as animals and plants, are named using two names that are taken from Latin. It has numerous advantages, including

• Classification and organisation: Each entity has a unique name which helps in its classification and organisation, making it simple to identify and research the properties of specific entities.
• Clarity and precision: Each entity has only one scientific name, which ensures no error in the naming.
• The scientific names are established and globally accepted.
• The names remain the same even if species are reassigned to a different genus based on new information.
• It aids in understanding the differences and similarities between distinct species belonging to the same genera, which aids in the formation of a link between the two.

Conclusion

In the above chapter, we have learnt the scientific nomenclature of various plants and animals, and we have gone through the various examples of the binomial nomenclature of the animals and plants. The nomenclature is called the Binomial nomenclature as it refers to the naming of different plant and animal species using a two-part scientific name. The generic name and species name are the two elements of a binomial name.