Scientific Name Binomial Nomenclature

Take a look at these common animals



If you were to name these animals you could use cat dog and frog.

If lived in Germany you would use cat, hund, frosch

In order to avoid confusion animals are identified with a scientific name.



This system is called "binomial nomenclature." These names are important because they allow people throughout the world to communicate about animals Scientists use international rules to name animals. These naming rules mean that every scientific name is unique.



Scientific names are also designed to tell you something about the animal's relationships with other animals.



Scientific names may also be descriptive about the animal.



Let’s dissect a scientific name



A house cat  Felis Domesticus



The first part describes the genus that a cat belongs to.  Felix

It is always capitalized

All species that are thought to be most closely related, are placed together in a genus.



The second part is the species  domesticus and it is always lower case

The species is unique to the organism



A dog  Canis lupus familiaris

Genus = Canis

Species = lupus familiaris



Frog   There are over 5000 types of frogs so the scientific name tells you exactly which one you are talking about.

Rana temporaria

Genus = Rana

Temporaria  species

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