Scientific Names of Animals

Scientific Names

The formal system of naming different species (animals as well as plants) is called binomial nomenclature, or binominal nomenclature. While "binomial name" and "bionominal name" are both technically correct, the term "scientific name" is far more popular. Each animal's scientific name has two parts: the first part represents the genus (a taxonomic group containing one or more species), while the second part represents the species (a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed).

Some sources also call these "Latin names," but the words used to create them are not always taken from Latin, so that term is technically incorrect.

The credit for developing this naming system goes to the Swedish botanist and physician Carl von Linné, also known as Carl Linnaeus. He set out to describe the entire natural world by giving every species a two-part scientific name.

When writing the scientific name of any species, keep these rules in mind: the first letter of the genus name is always capitalised, while the first letter of the species name is always lowercase, even if it is derived from a proper noun.

Beyond the genus name and species name, there is also the trinomial name. In animals, this is called a trinomen, and it is given to subspecies. For example, the trinomen of the Arctic wolf (a subspecies of the gray wolf) is Canis lupus arctos.

List of Scientific Names of Animals

With millions of animal species living on this planet, it is very difficult to compile a complete binomial nomenclature list. An easier approach is to list the most well-known members of Kingdom Animalia. Such a list makes the whole concept of scientific names for common animals much easier to understand.

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With millions of species (and a seemingly infinite number of subspecies) living on Earth, there are plenty of chances for confusion. The two-part naming system is a blessing in disguise. Even better, it gives stability: when a species has to be moved from one genus to another, you do not need to change the species descriptor at all.

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