Which information is given in a species name

Every recognized species on earth at least in theory is given a two-part scientific name. This system is called "binomial nomenclature.

This works because there are sets of international rules about how to name animals and zoologists try to avoid naming the same thing more than once, though this does sometimes happen. These naming rules mean that every scientific name is unique. For example, if bluegill sunfish are given the scientific name Lepomis macrochirus , no other animal species can be given the same name. So, if you are a Russian scientist studying relatives of sunfish and you want to discuss bluegill sunfish with a Canadian researcher, you both use the scientific name and know exactly what the other is talking about.

Scientific names are also designed to tell you something about the animal's relationships with other animals. The scientific name of each species is made up of a generic name generic epithet and a specific name specific epithet. In our bluegill sunfish example the generic epithet is Lepomis and the specific epithet is macrochirus. The generic epithet is the name of the genus singular of genera to which bluegill sunfish belong, the genus Lepomis.

Some genera contain only one species but most genera are made up of many species. There are other species of sunfish in the genus Lepomis , examples are Lepomis cyanellus green sunfish , Lepomis megalotis longear sunfish , and Lepomis gibbosus pumpkinseed sunfish.

Notice that all of these species share the same generic epithet, this indicates that they are all thought to be more closely related to each other than to any other species of fish.

The genus is the first level of taxonomic organization, in a way, because all species that are thought to be most closely related, are placed together in a genus.

Myotis keenii , "Keen's mouse-eared bat," is named after a gentleman named Keen Myotis means "mouse-eared". They may also contain references to regions where the species are found, such as southern right whales , Eubalaena australis , which translates to "southern true-baleen.

Unlike scientific names, common names are not unique. As a result, common name usage can lead to confusion about what animal is being referred to and what their relationships are to other animals. An example are "badgers. Although they are all called "badgers" and they are all members of the same mammalian family, they are not each other's closest relatives. There are many examples of confusing and redundant common names, just remember that you can't rely on the common name to tell you anything about the animal's evolutionary history.

Taxonomy, the science and process of naming living organisms, is a field that is constantly changing. When our scientific understanding of animal species and their relationships changes, it may mean that scientific names change as well.

For example, all small cat species were once included in the genus Felis. They have since been split into multiple genera in order to better represent important evolutionary differences among them. Bobcats were once known by the scientific name, Felis rufus , this name has since been changed to Lynx rufus. Unfortunately, older scientific literature on bobcats will still be found under Felis rufus and some sources may not recognize the name change right away.

Some species have come to be known by multiple scientific names. In such cases one name is chosen for the species and the other names are referred to as "synonyms" of the species name. For example, all bats in the genus Lasiurus were once also known by the generic name Nycteris. So Lasiurus borealis would have also been known as Nycteris borealis. The protocol for naming species was invented in the s by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.

In the mids, scientists agreed on an expanded system of nomenclature. The following codes are used today:. Common names of species can vary by geographic region but a universal protocol helps avoid ambiguity and ensures consistency.

Note that the designations are in Latin. This could be challenging for some who are not familiar with that language; however, the terms are globally consistent. There is no need to interpret them or translate them into another language.

The levels from highest to lowest classification are as follows:. The binomial name consists of a genus name and specific epithet.

The scientific names of species are italicized. The genus name is always capitalized and is written first; the specific epithet follows the genus name and is not capitalized. There is no exception to this. From above example, note that the classifications go from general Animalia to specific C. A species, by definition, is the combination of both the genus and specific epithet , not just the epithet. For example, we can use the term gray wolf but we cannot use just Canis or lupus to describe this animal.

Canis lupus is a species. We then choose which to use throughout and make it consistent. In subsequent references, we can use either the common or scientific name. If we use the scientific name, we need only to use the first letter of the genus followed by a period and the specific epithet. For example:. It is also common to refer to several species under one genus when you want to point out some similar characteristics within a genus.

Either of the above is acceptable. If you are focusing on a few species in particular, you would refer to the species name of each one.