Carl Linnaeus introduced the concept of binomial nomenclature. Multiple local names make identifying an organism globally incredibly difficult and keeping track of the number of organisms. And it is causing a lot of uncertainty. A standard protocol came up to get rid of that confusion. According to it, each and every organism would have one scientific name that everyone would use to classify an organism. This systematic naming method is known as Binomial Nomenclature.
Living objects that are most well known have common names. You’re probably familiar with, for example, the little red insects dotted with little black spots. You may call them ‘ladybugs’ or ‘ladybird beetles.’ But do you know that these insects are in fact several different species? Just using common names will make it difficult for scientists to differentiate between them, so each species gets a specific scientific name.
Binomial nomenclature is the standardized naming scheme used by all scientists to name living objects. It gives a bipartisan scientific name to each species. A ladybug found in the United States, for example, goes by Harmonia axyridis fancy name.
The first element of a scientific name is named the genus, close to Harmonia. Usually, one genus is the term for a particular group of closely related species. The second part of a scientific name, axyridis in this example, is the specific epithet. This is used to classify a specific species as being distinct from those that belong to the same genus. The genus plus the specific epithet together is the full scientific name for an organism.
I bet you know the scientific name for at least one species already, even though you may not have known it. Ever learned of the dinosaur. Hey, rex? T. Rex is, in fact, a scientific name – ‘T’ is simply an abbreviation of the genus Tyrannosaurus. And basically, the scientific name is Tyrannosaurus rex.
All Living Species have their own scientific names including plants, animals, birds, and even some microbes. For example:
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The tiger’s scientific name is given as Panthera tigris. ‘Panthera’ stands for the genus and ‘Tigris’ reflects a specific species or epithet.
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Human scientific name is given as Homo sapiens. ‘Homo’ stands for the genus and ‘sapiens’ represents an individual.
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The Indian bullfrog is written as Rana tigrina in science. ‘Rana’ is the genus name and the specific species is called ‘tigrina’.
Scientific names can be quite long and are always written in italics. So the full scientific name for a rose would be Rosa species, where ‘species’ is the specific epithet. When abbreviating the genus name, a capital letter is used to stand for the first letter in the genus name. This means all species within the same genus get an initial capital letter. For example, if there are two other rose species in different genera, their names could be Rosa gallica and Rosa micrantha.
The scientific name is composed of two parts: the generic name and specific epithet (species). The basic idea is that the generic name is for a particular group of closely related species, and the specific epithet is used to classify a specific species as being distinct from those that belong to the same genus. The two parts together make up the full scientific name for an organism.
The first element of a scientific name is always the generic name, and it is written with a capital letter. The second part of the scientific name, which is the specific epithet, is written in lowercase. For example, the scientific name for a lion is Panthera leo, and the specific epithet for a zebra is Equus burchelli.
The scientific name can be abbreviated by using only the first letter of the genus name and the specific epithet. So, for example, the scientific name for a human would be abbreviated as Homo sapiens. When abbreviating the species name, only the first letter of the specific epithet is used.
The Binomial Nomenclature system can be quite difficult to remember, but by using this naming convention, we can all be sure that everyone is talking about the same organism when they use a particular name. So the next time you hear about a species’ scientific name, remember that it is just like its common name – unique and specific to that one organism.
Rules of Binomial Nomenclature
Since scientific names are specific identifiers of organisms, they ensure that there is never any ambiguity about which organism a scientist may refer to. Therefore, to keep all binomial names consistent, certain essential rules must be followed:
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The full two-part name has to be written in italics (or emphasized when handwritten).
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The name of the genus is always read first.
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The name of the genus must be capitalized upon.
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Never capitalizing on the specific epithet.
A Biologist from around the world is pursuing a common collection of rules to name the species. There are two universal codes that are accepted for the naming procedure by all the biologists all over the world. They are as follows:
Such codes ensure that every organism is assigned a specific name, and that name is known globally.
The naming follows on from some conventions. Each scientific name has two Components
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Name generic
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Epithet specific
The remainder of the Binomial Nomenclature rules for the writing of organisms’ scientific names include:
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All the names of the scientific organisms are usually Latin. So, they’re printed in italics.
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Two pieces of a name do exist. The first word identifies the genus and identifies the species by the second word.
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When handwritten, the names are highlighted or italicized when typed. This is done to suggest its roots in Latin.
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The genus name starts with a capital letter, and the species name begins with a short letter.
Drawbacks of Binomial Nomenclature
Some of the main drawbacks of binomial nomenclature are:
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If two or more names are actually in use in compliance with the priority rule, the appropriate name will be used first and the other names will end up being synonyms because authenticity is synonymous with the senior. This must be stressed ensuring consistency in the naming and classification of species.
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The names used by Linnaeus before those included in the “SystemaNaturae” are also not recognized.
Binomial Nomenclature
Often known as the sequential nomenclature, this systematic method of naming organisms consists of two Latin names, the gen
us, and the species. All living things, and some viruses, have a scientific name.
We should add up the advantages of the binomial scheme are as follows:
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It is simple and very precise in its uniformity. In this, all species are in a simple uniform manner.
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This is extensible and may show the names of the organisms to be used for the future.
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It offers a description of the affinities for us, which serve as an assistant.
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Memory and provides basic plant information that we don’t know about.
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It makes it easier to talk about groups of species that have certain characteristics that are common.
Conclusion:
Binomial nomenclature is the best way to name all organisms because of its accuracy and simple rules. All biologists around the world should be using binomial nomenclature to name their specimens. Students should learn this system so that they will be able to identify organisms. website offers complete details about Binomial Nomenclature and its different aspects.