Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Genus (/ ˈ dʒ iː n ə s /; pl.: genera / ˈ dʒ ɛ n ər ə /) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. [1] In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.
Because genus names are unique only within a nomenclature code, it is possible for homonyms (two or more species sharing the same genus name) to happen, and even the same binomial if they occur in different kingdoms. At least 1,258 instances of genus name duplication occur (mainly between zoology and botany). [24] [25]
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 ...
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]
These codes differ in terminology, and there is a long-term project to "harmonize" this. For instance, the ICN uses "valid" in "valid publication of a name" (=the act of publishing a formal name), with "establishing a name" as the ICZN equivalent. The ICZN uses "valid" in "valid name" (="correct name"), with "correct name" as the ICN equivalent ...
"Felis" alone is the genus name for the group that includes the domestic cat. Examples: Dinofelis ("terrible cat"); Eofelis ("dawn cat"); Pardofelis ("leopard cat")-form, -formes: Pronunciation: /foʊrm/, /foʊrms/. Origin: Latin: forma. Meaning: shape, form. Used for large groups of animals that share similar characteristics; also used in ...
An animation illustrating the anagram between the Euphorbiaceae genus names Joannesia and Annesijoa Illustration from Adam White's A Popular History of British Crustacea, 1857, showing the crustacean genera Conilera and Rocinela named by Leach using taxonomic anagrams. In the biological nomenclature codes, an anagram can be used to name a new ...
The type genus for a family-group name is simply the genus that provided the stem to which was added the ending "-idae" (for families). Example: The family name Spheniscidae has as its type genus the genus Spheniscus Brisson, 1760. The type species for a genus-group name is more complicated and follows exactly defined provisions in articles 67 ...