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Binomial nomenclature, as described here, is a system for naming species. Implicitly, it includes a system for naming genera, since the first part of the name of the species is a genus name. In a classification system based on ranks, there are also ways of naming ranks above the level of genus and below the level of species.
The binomial name often reflects limited knowledge or hearsay about a species at the time it was named. For instance Pan troglodytes, the chimpanzee, and Troglodytes troglodytes, the wren, are not necessarily cave-dwellers. Sometimes a genus name or specific descriptor is simply the Latin or Greek name for the animal (e.g. Canis is Latin for ...
The scientific name (or the scientific epithet) of a genus is also called the generic name; in modern style guides and science, it is always capitalised. It plays a fundamental role in binomial nomenclature, the system of naming organisms, where it is combined with the scientific name of a species: see Botanical name and Specific name (zoology).
A taxon above the rank of species has a scientific name in one part (a uninominal name). A species has a name typically composed of two parts (a binomial name or binomen): generic name + specific name; for example Canis lupus. Sometimes the name of a subgenus (in parentheses) can be intercalated between the genus name and the specific epithet ...
An "authority" may be placed after a scientific name. [94] The authority is the name of the scientist or scientists who first validly published the name. [94] For example, in 1758, Linnaeus gave the Asian elephant the scientific name Elephas maximus, so the name is sometimes written as "Elephas maximus Linnaeus, 1758". [95]
Genus name: The scientific name of the genus. Binomial authority: The binomial authority—the person who first described the species using an available scientific name. Classified: The year the genus was formally described and classified. No. of species: The number of species, both extant and extinct, that are members of the genus. Type species
The rules and regulations governing the giving of a new species name are explained in the article species description. For example, the scientific name for humans is Homo sapiens, which is the species name, consisting of two names: Homo is the "generic name" (the name of the genus) and sapiens is the "specific name".
Noctua variegata (Lepidoptera) was coined by Jung, 1792, and Noctua variegata (Aves) by Quoy & Gaimard, 1830, thus creating a double homonym, until the latter species was placed in a different genus. Both species names are valid. For disambiguating one genus-group name from its homonym, it is important to cite author and year. Citing the author ...