What is Nomenclature?

A system through which organisms, including plants, animals, microorganisms and other living things are given distinct
scientific names is called Nomenclature.
In biology, each group of organisms, be it plants or animals or microorganisms, is already classified under special
divisions, according to the similarities and features. Therefore these living organisms should also have a common
naming system that makes it easier to understand them better.
A common system of naming is essential so that it makes it widely accepted throughout the world. And therefore there
evolved a system called the binomial nomenclature. This helped to a great extent in maintaining the standardization in
naming living things.
Binomial Nomenclature
The Binomial Nomenclature system is a formal system of naming that was introduced by
a scientist Carolus Linnaeus. He is regarded as the founder of modern taxonomy. His
books are considered as the beginning of modern biological nomenclature. They outlined
the rules for allocating names to plants and animals in a certain format.
System and Rules Binomial Nomenclature
In this system, there are certain rules that are followed while naming organisms. This
standard set of rules is applicable to plants and animals while giving them unique names
within a given system.
According to this system, each organism is known by two names – the Genus name and
the species name. These names are all written in Latin. The genus name and species name
of an organism written together are called its scientific name. Some rules that are followed
while writing these names are mentioned here under.
 The name of the genus always begins with a capital letter.
 The species name begins with a small letter.
 The scientific names are always italicized.
 When handwritten, the genus name and species name have to be underlined.
A few examples of names of organisms written in this system
 Homo sapiens ( Human Beings)
 Helianthus annuus ( Sunflower Plant)
 Panthera tigris (Tiger)
 Mangifera indica (Mango Plant)
 Canis lupus familiaris (Dog)