How Organisms Get Their Scientific Names — Nomenclature

In the previous topic, we saw that local names differ from region to region, making it impossible to have a clear, universal conversation about organisms. So how did biologists solve this problem? They built a naming system that works the same way everywhere on the planet.

Two Codes, One Goal — Naming Rules for Plants and Animals

To make sure scientists in Tokyo, Nairobi, and Buenos Aires all follow the same naming conventions, two international codes were established:

• ICBN (International Code for Botanical Nomenclature) — lays down the agreed principles and criteria for naming plants
• ICZN (International Code of Zoological Nomenclature) — provides the equivalent framework for naming animals

Both codes serve the same purpose: they prevent confusion by guaranteeing that the naming process follows identical standards everywhere.

What Scientific Names Achieve

A well-designed scientific name does three things at once:

• One organism, one name — every species carries a single, unique scientific name recognised worldwide
• Universal recognition — any biologist who reads a proper description of an organism should be able to arrive at the same name, regardless of where in the world they are working
• No duplication — a name given to one organism cannot be reused for any other known organism

In short, scientific names eliminate the ambiguity that local names create.

The Two-Part Name — Binomial Nomenclature

The naming system used by biologists worldwide was created by Carolus Linnaeus. It is called binomial nomenclature (literally, “two-name naming”), because every scientific name is built from exactly two words:

1. Generic name — identifies the genus (the broader group the organism belongs to)
2. Specific epithet — pinpoints the particular species within that genus

This two-word format turned out to be both simple and powerful. With just two words, you can uniquely identify any organism on Earth.

Seeing It in Action — The Mango

The scientific name of mango is written as Mangifera indica:

• Mangifera — the generic name, telling us the organism belongs to the mango genus
• indica — the specific epithet, identifying this particular species within the genus

Together, the pair gives the mango an identity that a scientist in any country would instantly recognise.

The Universal Rules Every Scientific Name Must Follow

No matter which organism is being named, four rules always apply:

1. Language — Scientific names are written in Latin (or a Latinised form). Even if a name is originally derived from Greek, Arabic, or any other language, it must be converted into Latin.

2. Structure — The first word is always the genus, the second word is always the specific epithet. No exceptions.

3. How to display the name — In printed text, both words appear in italics. When writing by hand, each word is separately underlined (one underline for the genus, a separate underline for the specific epithet). This signals their Latin origin.

4. Capitalisation — The genus always starts with a capital letter; the specific epithet always starts with a small letter. So Mangifera indica is correct, but Mangifera Indica or mangifera indica are wrong.

Who Described It First? — Author Citation

There is one more piece of information that often appears at the end of a scientific name: the author citation. This is the abbreviated name of the scientist who first described and named the species.

For example: Mangifera indica Linn.

Here, Linn. is short for Linnaeus, telling us that Linnaeus was the first person to formally describe and name the mango. Author citations help trace the history behind each species name and settle disputes when two scientists independently name the same organism.