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Home > News & Articles > Scientific Names of Animals and Plants: Definitions, Nomenclature, How to Write, Significance, Uses, and Rules
Updated on 22nd September, 2023 , 6 min read
Our world is rich in variety. Our environment is home to a wide variety of plants, animals, and creatures. Many have been found, and many more are still concealed. Species refers to the many types of creatures that make up an ecosystem. Every species has a local name, which varies depending on where it is used.
Nomenclature is the practice of referring to living things by their scientific names. Various names for both plants and animals are used around the world. The idea of nomenclature was devised to prevent misunderstandings and guarantee that everyone uses the same word to refer to a certain name. Local names are distinct from scientific names.
The world now uses the system that Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus invented for formally naming living things. In his 1753 work "Species Plantarum," he first introduced the idea of binomial nomenclature, and he further discussed it in Systema Naturae (1758).
A number of experts have devised protocols to give each recognized creature a scientific name in order to facilitate research. To ensure the distinct identification of species everywhere, scientists from all around the globe have accepted the worldwide code, which is as follows-
An official method of designating a species that is commonly used is called binomial nomenclature. Two names make up the nomenclature, and both of them are Latin-derived. It can, however, also be borrowed from other languages. A binomial or scientific name is what we refer to as such a name. The genus to which an organism belongs is highlighted by the generic name or the first few letters of the name. The second portion, or specific name, indicates the precise species of the genus that the organism belongs to.
The following table can help in better comprehend this system-
Modern Humans | |
Generic Name | Homo |
Specific Name | Sapiens |
The idea of binomial nomenclature has been crucial in giving all living things scientific names. The following are the significance of the Animal scientific names of animals and plants-
Similar to the naming system for plants, animals also have names. The genus is written first in a scientific name, then the species. However, the first and second portions of a plant's scientific name cannot be the same as its binomial name. This is permitted for animals. The list of common animals' scientific names is shown below-
Common Animal Names with Their Scientific Names | |
African elephant | Loxodonta |
Albatross | Diomedeidae |
Alpaca | Vicugna pacos |
Ant | Formicidae |
Arabian camel | Camelus dromedarius |
Asian Elephant | Elephas maximus |
Bat | Chiroptera |
Bear | Ursidae |
Bird | Aves |
Blackbuck | Antilope cervicapra |
Black Rat | Rattus rattus |
Brown Tree Snake | Boiga irregularis |
Buffalo | Bubalus bubalis |
Bulbul | Pycnonotidae |
Butterfly | Rhopalocera |
Cat | Felis catus |
Cheetah | Acinonyx jubatus |
Chinkara | Gazella bennettii |
Cobra | Naja |
Cockroach | Blattodea |
Common Myna | Acridotheres Tristis |
Cow | Bos taurus |
Crocodile | Crocodylus Palustris |
Deer | Cervidae |
Dog | Canis lupus familiaris |
Dolphin | Cetacea |
Eagle | Accipitridae |
Elephant | Elephantidae |
Earthworm | Lumbricus |
Fish | Vertebrata |
Gaur | Bos Taurus |
Gavial or Gharial | Gavialis gangeticus |
Giraffe | Giraffa camelopardalis |
Goat | Capra aegagrus hircus |
Great horned owl | Bubo virginianus |
Grasshopper | Caelifera |
Hen | Gallus Gallus Domesticus |
Hippopotamus | Hippopotamus Amphibius |
Horse | Equus caballus |
Honey Bee | Apis |
House crow | Corvus splendens |
Housefly | Musca Domestica |
House Mouse | Mus musculus |
House Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
House wall Lizard | Hemidactylus flavivirus |
Indian Cobra | Naja naja |
Indian Python | Python molurus |
Kashmir Stag or Hangul | Cervus canadensis Hanglu |
King cobra | Ophiophagus hannah |
Koel | Eudynamys scolopaceus |
Leopard or Panther | Panthera pardus |
Lion | Panthera leo |
Lizard | Squamata |
Monkey | Simiiformes (infraorder) |
Mosquito | Culicidae |
Nilgai | Boselaphus tragocamelus |
Peacock | Pavo cristatus |
Pig | Sus |
Pigeon | Columba livia |
Prawn | Dendrobranchiata |
Parrot | Psittaciformes |
Rabbit | Oryctolagus cuniculus |
Rat | Rodentia |
Rat Snake | Ptyas mucosa |
Rattle Snake | Crotalinae |
Red fox | Vulpes vulpes |
Rhesus monkey | Macaca mulatta |
Rhinoceros | Rhinoceros unicornis |
Sea Snake | Hydrophiinae |
Sheep | Ovis aries |
Siberian crane | Grus leucogeranus |
Snake | Serpentes |
Snakehead | Channidae |
Sparrow | Passer domesticus |
Spider | Araneae |
Starfish | Asteroidea |
Tiger | Panthera tigris |
Tiger Snake | Notechis scutatus |
Wild Ass | Equus Africanus Asinus |
Wild boar | Sus scrofa |
Wolf | Canis lupus |
Zebra | Equus quagga |
The following table gives details about the various scientific names of some common plants-
Common Plants Names with Their Scientific Names | |
Apple | Malus domestica |
Bamboo | Bamboosa aridinarifolia |
Banana | Musa paradisiaca |
Banyan | Ficus benghalensis |
Black Gram | Plasoes mungo |
Black Pepper | Piper nigrum |
Brinjal | Solanum melongena |
Capsicum | Capsicum frutescens |
Carrot | Daucas carota |
Clove | Syzygium aromaticum |
Coriander | Coriandrum sativum |
Cotton | Gossypium herbaceum |
Cucumber | Cucumis sativus |
Curry plant | Murraya koenigii |
Drumstick | Moringa oleifera |
Garlic | Allium sativum |
Ginger | Zingiber officinale |
Green Gram | Phaseolies aulicus |
Guava | Psidium guajava |
Henna | Lawsonia inermis |
Horse Gram | Dolichos biffoeus |
Jowar | Sorghum vulgare |
Lemon | Citrus Limonium |
Lettuce | Lactuca sativa |
Maize | Zea mays |
Mango | Cetacea |
Mint | Accipitridae |
Money Plant | Elephantidae |
Neem | Lumbricus |
Onion | Vertebrata |
Orange | Bos Gaurus |
Pineapple | Gavialis gangeticus |
Potato | Giraffa camelopardalis |
Radish | Capra aegagrus hircus |
Red Gram | Bubo virginianus |
Sandalwood | Caelifera |
Spinach | Gallus Gallus Domesticus |
Tobacco | Hippopotamus Amphibius |
Tomato | Equus caballus |
Tulsi | Apis |
Turmeric | Corvus Splendens |
Watermelon | Musca Domestica |
Wheat | Mus musculus |
Since the binomial nomenclature is based on the taxonomy of creatures, it's noteworthy to note that phylogenetic and evolutionary studies have considerably aided in establishing the connections between these extinct animals and surviving organisms. This is done specifically to identify the species and genus, aiding in the naming of the organism. The following is a list of scientific names for extinct animals-
Scientific names for well-known extinct organisms | |
Great Auk | Pinguinus Impennis |
Megalodon | Carcharocles Megalodon |
Moa | Dinornithiformes |
Passenger Pigeon | Ectopistes Migratorius |
Tasmanian Tiger | Thylacinus Cynocephalus |
T-Rex | Tyrannosaurus Rex |
Scientific names, also known as binomial nomenclature, are derived from Latin and are used to identify things like plants, animals, and living things. It offers a lot of benefits, including-
The uniform guidelines for referencing each specific organism's scientific name. The scientific name must be written according to five guidelines-
For Example: Let's use mango as an example. The species "Indica" and genus "Mangifera" both refer to mangoes. "Mangifera indica Linn" is the right method to write the scientific name of a mango. The term Linn in this name refers to Carolus Linnaeus, the naturalist who discovered the mango.
The process of designating organisms or giving them a scientific name is referred to as binomial nomenclature. The scientific name is composed of the genus and species names. Scientific names are important because they offer a uniform method for characterizing an organism's species for scientists from all around the world. The particular name must never be capitalized, but the generic name must always be, according to the rules of binomial nomenclature. Italicize the name in its entirety as well. Because each creature has a name, this method is popular because it makes things easier to remember and understand.
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By - Nikita Parmar 2023-08-25 09:48:44 , 11 min readAns. Homo sapiens sapiens is the trinomial name for contemporary humans.
Ans. Animals are given a trinomial name in addition to their species and genus names. It is typically used to distinguish between subspecies. For instance, Canis lupus arctos is the trinomen of the Arctic wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf.
Ans. The initial letter of the genus name, which must always be written in letters, must be taken into consideration while constructing a scientific name. Even though a species descriptor is a proper noun, the initial letter is always written in lower case and never in upper case.
Ans. It might be difficult for inexperienced observers to remember binomial names. They take a while to read and are mostly written in Latin. They are hard for the average person to grasp since they are long and usually unheard of.
Ans. In an effort to provide a two-part binomial nomenclature or scientific name to describe the natural world, Carl von Linne or Carl Linnaeus established the scientific naming system.
Ans. In an effort to provide a two-part binomial nomenclature or scientific name to describe the natural world, Carl von Linne or Carl Linnaeus established the scientific naming system.
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