Scientific Names of Plants and Animals

What is Nomenclature?

Nomenclature is defined as the system of naming organisms with a scientific name. Animals and plants are called by different names across the globe. The concept of nomenclature was developed to avoid confusion and to ensure the entire world follows the same name to address the particular name. Scientific names are different from local names.

What is Binomial Nomenclature?

The concept of Binomial nomenclature was developed by a famous scientist named Carolus Linnaeus. Carolus Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, physician, and taxonomist. Biologists across the globe follow the internationally accepted codes of principles while assigning a scientific name to the newly discovered or known organisms.

Let’s understand what binomial nomenclature is and what rules are to be followed while writing the scientific name of an organism.

The scientific name of every organism is composed of two names. The first name represents the genus to which it belongs, whereas the second name represents the species. Because the organism is named using two names, the process is called Binomial Nomenclature. Binomial nomenclature is nothing but naming the organism using its genus and species.

For example, let’s take the example of modern human beings. As per the Linnaeus taxonomical classification, Humans belong to the genus “Homo” and species “sapiens”. So, the scientific name of humans would be Homo sapiens.

Universal Rules for Binomial Nomenclature

Now that we have understood that binomial nomenclature is the system of naming an organism using two names, let’s understand the universal rules for writing the scientific name of any given organism. There are 5 rules one must follow to write the scientific name correctly.

Binomial names are generally taken from the Latin language, irrespective of their origin.
Each organism is given only one name and is unique. No two organisms can have the same scientific name.
The scientific name should be printed in Italics. Furthermore, handwritten scientific names should be underlined separately to indicate their Latin origin.
The first word denotes the genus and should start with a capital letter. And, the second word denotes the specific epithet and should start with a small letter.
The name of the scientist who discovered the organism is written after the species in abbreviated form.

Let’s consider the example of a mango. Mango belongs to the genus “Mangifera” and species “Indica”. The correct way to write the scientific name of a Mango is “Mangifera indica Linn”. In this name, Linn represents the name of the scientist who discovered mango i.e. Carolus Linnaeus.

Scientific Names of Animals

Common Name	Scientific Name
Modern Humans	Homo sapiens
Lion	Panthera leo
Housefly	Musca domestica
Pigeon	Columba livia
Crow	Corvus splendens
Cat	Felis domesticus
Dog	Canis familiaris
Crocodile	Crocodylus palustris
Buffalo	Bubalus bubalis
Horse	Equus caballus
Giraffe	Giraffa camelopardalis
Sparrow	Passer domesticus
Indian cobra	Naja naja
King cobra	Ophiophagus hannah
Panther	Panthera pardus
Monkey	Simiiformes (infraorder)
Rabbit	Oryctolagus cuniculus
Rat snake	Ptyas mucosa
Rhesus monkey	Macaca mulatta
Tiger	Panthera tigris
Honey bee	Apid indica or Apis dorsata
Zebra	Equus quagga

Scientific Names of Plants

Common Name	Scientific Name
Apple	Pyrus malus
Barley	Hordeum vulgare
Brinjal	Solanum melongena
Carrot	Daucas carota
Bamboo	Bamboosa aridinarifolia
Black Gram	Palsoes mungo
Banana	Musa paradisicum
Banyan	Ficus benghalensis
Cucumber	Cucumis sativas
Black Pepper	Piper nigrum
Capsicum	Capsicum fruitscence
Clove	Syzygium aromaticum
Coriander	Coriandrum sativum
Cotton	Gossypium herbaceum
Curry leaf	Murraya koenigii
Finger millet	Eleusine coracana
Chiku	Achras sapota
Guava	Psidium guava
Dragon fruit	Hylocereus undatus
Garlic	Allium sativum
Green Gram	Phaseolus audicus
Jowar	Sorghum Vulgare
Ginger	Zingiber officinale
Lemon	Citrus Limonium
Jack fruit	Artocarpus integra
Mango	Mangifera indica
Kadamb	Anthocephalus indicus
Onion	Allium cepa
Maize	Zea mays
Pea	Pisum sativum
Neem	Azadirachta indica
Potato	Solanum tuberosum
Orange	Citrus aurantium
Peacock Flower (Gulmohar)	Delonix regia rafin
Papaya	Carica papaya
Peepal	Ficus religiosa Linn.
Pomegranate	Punica granatum
Radish	Raphanus sativus
Purple orchid tree (Kachnar)	Bauhinia purpurea
Rice	Oryza sativa
Pineapple	Ananus sativus
Soya bean	Glycine max
Red maple	Acer rubrum
Sandalwood	Santalum album
Rose	Rosa
Sunflower	Helianthus annuus
Silver Oak	Grevillea robusta
Tobacco	Nicotina tobaccum
Spinach	Lactuca sativa
Teak	Tectona grandis Linn.
Turmeric	Curcuma longa
Tomato	Lycopersicon esculentum
Tulsi	Ocimum sanctum
Lettuce	Lactuca sativa
Tamarind tree	Tamarindus indica
Watermelon	Citrullus vulgaris

Significance of Scientific Names

The concept of binomial nomenclature has been greatly significant in assigning scientific names to all living entities.

Before the discovery of binomial nomenclature, very long and inconvenient names were used to name an organism. With the advent of binomial nomenclature, remembering the scientific names of organisms has become easy.
Binomial nomenclature helps avoid confusion which is seen with local names.
All scientific names are universally accepted, standardized, and recognised.

Scientific Names of Plants and Animals About Faqs

Scientific names, or binomial nomenclature, provide a standardized and universally recognized way to identify and categorize species. They help avoid confusion caused by common names, which can vary regionally.

The system of binomial nomenclature was developed by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, in the 18th century.

Scientific names are typically composed of two parts: the genus name (capitalized) and the species name (lowercase). For example, Homo sapiens (human beings), where Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species.

Yes, scientific names are standardized across the globe. They are based on Latin or Greek roots, making them universally understandable by scientists, regardless of their native language.

No, according to the rules of binomial nomenclature, each species must have a unique scientific name. However, the same common name might refer to different species in different regions.

Yes, both plants and animals use the binomial nomenclature system for their scientific names.

Subspecies are indicated by adding a third term after the species name. For example, Panthera leo leo refers to the African lion, while Panthera leo persica refers to the Asiatic lion.

Scientific names provide a precise and unambiguous way to refer to species, facilitating accurate communication among scientists. They are essential for biodiversity studies, taxonomy, and ecological research.

While the majority of species adhere to binomial nomenclature, some organisms, particularly bacteria, may have trinomial names or other variations based on their specific classification rules.

Yes, scientific names can change based on ongoing research and reevaluation of species relationships. This might occur due to advancements in genetic studies or a deeper understanding of evolutionary relationships.

Hybrids are denoted by combining the genus names of the parent species. For example, Citrus × sinensis refers to the sweet orange, a hybrid between Citrus maxima and Citrus reticulata.

Yes, numerous resources, including databases like the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and botanical gardens, provide comprehensive lists of scientific names for plants and animals.