Latin, Binominal or Scientific Names

Common, vernacular, or in our case, English, names for animals are not formally regulated. They may vary with location, many local dialects have different names for the same species, and the same name may be applied to several different but similar animals. Many less commonly seen or less significant species have no common name. In order to refer unambiguously to a particular species of animal, biologists use a binominal or scientific name.

Linnaeus

Scientific names for species were first formalised by Swedish biologist and taxonomist Carl von Linné (Latin: Carolus Linnaeus, abbreviation L.) in his book Systema Naturae, first published in 1735, The 10th. edition (1758/9) is considered the beginning of binominal nomenclature for animals.

Latin was still the universal language of communication in Europe at this time, so Latin was used for the names. The name of each species was composed of two parts - the generic and specific names or epithets.

The Genus (Latin genus "descent, family, type, gender", cognate with Greek: γένος – genos, "race, stock, kin") or generic epithet is the lowest full level grouping of similar species. These species are thought to be descended from a single common ancestor species. All species descended from this ancestor are included in this genus. The generic epithet is always capitalised and is conventionally set in an italic font.

Where a group of species within a genus are thought to be more closely related to each other than to other members of the genus a sub-genus may be created. This is indicated by adding, in brackets, the sub-generic name between the generic and specific names - e.g. Halichondria (Halichondria) panicea (Pallas, 1766) - when desired. Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766) refers to the same species and is also valid.

The specific epithet, the second part of the name, must be unique in the genus and is chosen by the original author of the first description of the species. The name may be descriptive of an outstanding feature of the species, derived from the locality where it was found, commemorative of an outstanding worker in the field or the collector of the specimen, or randomly chosen. The specific epithet is never capitalised and is conventionally set in an italic font.

P.S. Pallas

Finally, in order to unambiguously identify a species, the name of the author and the date of the original description are added, set in an upright font. It sometimes happens that a second author describes a different species using the same name, in ignorance of the first description. That name is not valid but remains in the literature. Adding the author and date resolves any ambiguity. If, because of reclassification, the species has been moved into a different genus, the name and date are enclosed in round brackets.

Taking the example given above - Halichondria panicea (Pallas, 1766), the Breadcrumb Sponge - was originally described by P.S. Pallas in 1766 as Spongia panicea. In 1828 J. Fleming revised the sponges and erected the genus Halichondria, designating Spongia panicea Pallas, 1766 as the type species.

Pallas, P.S. 1766. Elenchus Zoophytorum sistens generum adumbrations generaliores et specierum cognitarum succinctas descriptiones cum selectis auctorum synonymis. (P. van Cleef: The Hague): 1-451.,

Fleming, J. 1828. Spongiadae. Pp. 518-527. In: A History of British Animals, Exhibiting the Descriptive Characters and Systematical Arrangement of the Genera and Species of Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, Fishes, Mollusca, and Radiata of the United Kingdom; including the Indigenous, Extirpated, and Extinct Kinds, together with Periodical and Occasional Visitants. Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh: i-xxiii, 1-565.