Binomial Nomenclature

Binomial nomenclature is a scientific naming system created by Carolus Linnaeus to give every living organism a standard two-part name that never changes. It replaces local common names with a universal scientific identity so that scientists and students across the world can communicate without confusion.

The problem with common names

• Living organisms have completely different names across different languages and regions.
• A lion is called asad in Syria, sher in Hindi, bag in Nepali, and simham in Malayalam.
• A monkey is called bandar in Hindi, bonder in Nepali, and karangu in Malayalam.
• A tree known locally in Tamil as Ezhilepallai changes names across regions, while its scientific name Alstonia scholaris remains identical everywhere.

Rules of two-part names

Scientific names always consist of two terms to identify an organism. The first term represents the genus, or generic group, and its first letter is always written in uppercase. The second term represents the species, which is the specific type, and all of its letters are written in lowercase. This standard pattern applies to all scientific names.

Naming species after people

• Scientists who discover a new organism can choose the species name as they like.
• For example, different spider species have been named after Angelina Jolie and Obama.
• If a scientist names a species after a man or a surname like Sachin, the letter i is added to the end to form sachini.
• If a species is named after a female name like Rashmi, the letters ae are added to the end to form rashmiae.

Same genus and species names

In some animals, the genus name and the species name are completely identical, a condition known as tautonomy. For example, the gorilla has the scientific name Gorilla gorilla, and the python is called Python python. This repeated naming rule is accepted only for animal species. It is strictly not permitted for plant species.