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Such a name is called a binomial name (often shortened to just "binomial"), a binomen, binominal name, or a scientific name; more informally, it is also called a Latin name. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), the system is also called binominal nomenclature , [ 1 ] with an "n" before the "al" in "binominal", which is ...
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 ...
The scientific need for simple, stable and internationally accepted systems for naming objects of the natural world has generated many formal nomenclatural systems. [citation needed] Probably the best known of these nomenclatural systems are the five codes of biological nomenclature that govern the Latinized scientific names of organisms.
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 ]
Priority is a principle in biological taxonomy by which a valid scientific name is established based on the oldest available name. It is a decisive rule in botanical and zoological nomenclature to recognise the first binomial name (also called binominal name in zoology) given to an organism as the correct and acceptable name.
homonym: names spelled identically, but, in some codes, names spelled similarly, as defined by the code senior homonym (zoology): the first legitimate use of the name which generally takes priority; junior homonym (zoology), later homonym (botany): a later and generally illegitimate use, though in some circumstances the later name is allowed to ...
The defining part of a name that denominates a cultivar. Cultivars are designated by fancy (q.v.) epithets appended either to the scientific name or to the common name of the taxon to which they belong; they are not italicized but placed in single quotation marks, e.g. Rubus nitidoides 'Merton Early'. 'Merton Early' is the cultivar epithet.
Scientific terminology is the part of the language that is used by scientists in the context of their professional activities. While studying nature , scientists often encounter or create new material or immaterial objects and concepts and are compelled to name them.