BIOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE
Course Code: BIO 102
Session: 2023/2024
Lecturer: Dr. A.A. WAHAB
Department of Microbiology.
Faculty of Basic and Applied Sciences
2
CONCEPT OF BIOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE
In the scientific community of biology, the identification of organisms also
includes naming them with some unique names which are universally
acceptable and are the same everywhere around the world.
Nomenclature is the system that provides certain rules and regulations set by a
committee or organization to provide a certain unique identity in terms of
name to any organism.
What is Binomial Nomenclature?
Binomial (Bi refers to two and nomial refers to name) nomenclature is the
method of providing an organism a specific identity as two names as Genus
and Species.
3
These are names generally adopted from the Latin language.
In the scientific study, the nomenclature is done after identifying and
classifying an organism based on its specific characteristics which distinguish
it from other organisms
History of Binomial Nomenclature
The pioneer of binomial nomenclature was Casper Bauhin.
It was first used or made popular by Swedish botanical taxonomist Carolus
Linnaeus in the 1700s. And after that was used many other biologists.
4
That’s why he is also known as the father of taxonomy.
One of his popular books based on nomenclature was “Systema Naturae”.
He published scientific names of almost 6000 or more plants and 4000 or
more animals.
Among the different editions of publications of Carl Linnaeus, scientific
names in the publications of 1753 for plants (Species Plantarum) and 1758 for
animals (Tenth edition of Systema Naturae) were considered valid.
Binomial Nomenclature was further developed and carried on by different
scientists who worked on classification and evolution such as Jean Baptiste de
Lamarck, Ernst Haeckel, and others
5 How does Binomial Nomenclature Work?
Binomial Nomenclature is formulated under certain rules by different
scientists or scientific communities. These names are based on different codes
made by different committees such as
International Code for Botanical Nomenclature for Plants
International Code for Zoological Nomenclatures for Animals
International Code for Nomenclature of Bacteria
International Code of Virus Classification Nomenclature
International Code of Nomenclature of Cultivable plants and others
6 The rules or regulations made by these committees are followed universally in the
scientific naming of different organisms.
Organisms are assigned with a name containing two words.
The first word or generic name is being based on the genus of the organism.
The second word or specific epithet is based on the species of the organism.
The genus can be similar containing different species of organisms.
Species are unique and every organism will have a different species name.
For eg. Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax have the same genus
name Plasmodium but different species names i.e. falciparum and vivax.
7
Rules of Binomial Nomenclature
The names should contain two words.
The names should be derived or adopted from the Latin language.
The first letter of the generic name should be capital and the first letter of
the species name should be small.
A space is kept between two names.
The names should be in an italic form in print or soft copy. Eg. Homo
sapiens.
8
The names should be underlined separately in case of handwritten notes.
Eg. Homo sapiens.
Author name can also be included and in that case, the author name’s
abbreviation is written after species name with a space. For eg. Magnifera
indica Linn. where Linn represents Carolus Linnaeus.
If the first name given to any organism follows all the rules of binomial
nomenclature then it is considered a valid name and the priority name
even if other names are given later. The names given later will only be
considered as a synonym. It is called the priority law.
9
Binomial Nomenclature Examples
The following table includes scientific names of some plants, animals,
parasites, etc. as per the rules of binomial nomenclature.
Common Name Scientific Name Genus Species
Frog Rana tigrina Rana tigrina
10
Human Homo sapiens Homo sapiens
Tiger Panthera tigris Panthera tigris
Dog Canis familiaris Canis familiaris
Pig tapeworm Taenia solium Taenia solium
Roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides Ascaris lumbricoides
Beef tapeworm Taenia saginata Taenia saginata
Rice Oryza sativa Oryza sativa
Mango Magnifera indica Magnifera indica
Soybean Glycine max Glycine max
Potato Solanum tuberosum Solanum tuberosum
Black Rat Rattus rattus Rattus rattus
Cobra snake Naja naja Naja naja
Malarial parasite Plasmodium vivax Plasmodium vivax
11 Binomial Nomenclature Applications
In biological studies, organisms are assigned with some distinguishable specific
scientific names, and bionomical nomenclature is applied for it.
It helps in the systematic scientific studies of different organisms.
Based on specific characteristics, it can be used to provide scientific names to
pre-existing or newly discovered organisms.
12
Some of the scientific names can easily indicate the general identification or
characteristics of any organism. Eg. Entamoeba coli where “Entamoeba”
indicates it to be enteric amoeba and “coli” indicates its presence in the colon of
the intestine.
The common name of organisms may vary around different parts of the world
based on their language but the scientific name remains the same which makes
it easier for biologists around the world to recognize it.
13 Binomial Nomenclature Limitations
It includes species name along with genus but nowadays further classification
leads to subspecies i.e. three names or trinomial nomenclature that is not
included in binomial nomenclature. Eg. Homo sapiens sapiens for humans.
Priority law leads to the limitation of using the first name as a priority if they
are valid although the names assigned later may be more suitable. But the later
assigned names are just considered synonyms.
The names are mostly unfamiliar to common people.
These names can be harder to remember for every organism as they are long and
different.
