Question

What is binomial nomenclature? Explain it with a suitable example. Give its advantages.

Answer 1

A system of nomenclature of plants and animals in which the scientific name consists of two words or parts or epithets is called binomial nomenclature.

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Rules of binomial nomenclature:

i. The name of the plant or animal is composed of two Latin or Greek words.

ii. Generic name is a simple noun which should come first and always begin with a capital letter.

iii. Specific name is the descriptive adjective which should come later and begin with a small letter.

iv. The names should be based on some special characters of the organism.

v. Usually the name of the author, who has named and described a plant or animal, is also written in full

or abbreviated form after the scientific name. e.g Mangifera indica L, where L stands for Linnaeus.

vi. The generic and specific name must be underlined separately if hand written or in italics when printed.

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Advantages of binomial nomenclature:

i. The binomials are simple, meaningful and precise.

ii. They are standard since they do not change from place to place.

iii. These names avoid confusion and uncertainty created by local or vernacular names.

iv. The organisms are known by the same name throughout the world.

v. The binomials are easy to understand and remember due to the rhyming.

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