06-30-2004, 02:30 PM
THE BASICS OF BIOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE
Although the use of technical scientific names ('Latin names') may seem tedious to you, it is vitally important for many reasons. Scientific communication must be precise and unambiguous, but common names lack these properties. In many cases, the same species may have many different common names, or several different species may share the same common name. Common names suffer from language barriers, preventing communication among individuals from different countries, and may be misleading (for example, 'Spanish moss' is neither Spanish nor a moss).
There are specific conventions that are used when writing scientific names. Names that are not written according to the rules are quite simply wrong, and would not be acceptable in a scientific publication (though newspaper articles routinely ignore the rules). Correct format for scientific names is explained in your textbook (McMillan, pages 146-148), which you should read carefully. Specific points that you should check are listed below.
1.According to the system of binomial nomenclature devised by Linnaeus in 1753, each species has a two-word name (for example, white oak = Quercus alba). The first word represents the genus, a broader category that may include many species (there are several hundred species of oak, all in the genus Quercus). The second word is called the specific epithet. Many people refer to the second word as the 'species,' but this is technically incorrect, because the name of the species is the entire two-word combination.
2.The genus name is always capitalized.
3.The specific epithet is never capitalized.
4.The specific epithet never stands alone. It must always be preceded by the genus name. After the full name has been used once, a one-letter abbreviation may be substituted for the genus name (Q. alba), unless this causes any ambiguity.
5.No punctuation is placed between the genus name and the specific epithet.
6.Scientific names are always either italicized or underlined. This applies to both words of the binomial, or to the genus name if it is used on its own. When writing by hand, underline each word separately, leaving a gap in the line (Quercus alba, not Quercus alba). When using a word processor, you can choose to either underline or italicize. If you underline, the rule about leaving a gap in the line still applies; thus, italicizing is often easier.
7.Additional information is often included after the binomial name of the species. The first time a scientific name is used in a paper, it is customary to give the name of the person who first named that species, often known as the 'authority' for that species (for example, Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl). Again this prevents ambiguity, especially in cases where there is any question about the correct usage of a particular name. Sometimes the name is written in full, and sometimes it is abbreviated; the most extreme abbreviation is the one-letter designation L., which stands for Linnaeus. In some cases, authority designations may become quite complex, reflecting taxonomic reclassifications (for example, Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.). In your case, simply copy the authority citation exactly as you find it, without changing any capitalization or punctuation. The authority is not underlined nor italicized.
8.Many sources may also attach additional taxonomic information after a name, such as the family to which this species belongs. Names of families, orders, classes, phyla, and kingdoms are not italicized nor underlined. One hint that may help you to recognize when this has been done is to remember that most animal families end in the suffix -idae, while most plant families end in the suffix -aceae.
9. When dealing with titles retrieved from computer databases, scientific names are often mangled, and you have to reconstruct them. Most databases cannot italicize or underline. Sometimes they may place a hyphen between the genus and specific epithet (so that the name indexes as a single keyword). Other punctuation may be omitted. Thus, some guesswork may be in order. It would not be surprising to see a title from a database like the following: the therapeutic value of Echinacea‑purpurea L Moench Asteraceae. It would be up to you to correct this to: The therapeutic value of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (Asteraceae).
Thanks...
http://alpha.furman.edu/~pollard/bio22/species.htm
Although the use of technical scientific names ('Latin names') may seem tedious to you, it is vitally important for many reasons. Scientific communication must be precise and unambiguous, but common names lack these properties. In many cases, the same species may have many different common names, or several different species may share the same common name. Common names suffer from language barriers, preventing communication among individuals from different countries, and may be misleading (for example, 'Spanish moss' is neither Spanish nor a moss).
There are specific conventions that are used when writing scientific names. Names that are not written according to the rules are quite simply wrong, and would not be acceptable in a scientific publication (though newspaper articles routinely ignore the rules). Correct format for scientific names is explained in your textbook (McMillan, pages 146-148), which you should read carefully. Specific points that you should check are listed below.
1.According to the system of binomial nomenclature devised by Linnaeus in 1753, each species has a two-word name (for example, white oak = Quercus alba). The first word represents the genus, a broader category that may include many species (there are several hundred species of oak, all in the genus Quercus). The second word is called the specific epithet. Many people refer to the second word as the 'species,' but this is technically incorrect, because the name of the species is the entire two-word combination.
2.The genus name is always capitalized.
3.The specific epithet is never capitalized.
4.The specific epithet never stands alone. It must always be preceded by the genus name. After the full name has been used once, a one-letter abbreviation may be substituted for the genus name (Q. alba), unless this causes any ambiguity.
5.No punctuation is placed between the genus name and the specific epithet.
6.Scientific names are always either italicized or underlined. This applies to both words of the binomial, or to the genus name if it is used on its own. When writing by hand, underline each word separately, leaving a gap in the line (Quercus alba, not Quercus alba). When using a word processor, you can choose to either underline or italicize. If you underline, the rule about leaving a gap in the line still applies; thus, italicizing is often easier.
7.Additional information is often included after the binomial name of the species. The first time a scientific name is used in a paper, it is customary to give the name of the person who first named that species, often known as the 'authority' for that species (for example, Thlaspi caerulescens J. & C. Presl). Again this prevents ambiguity, especially in cases where there is any question about the correct usage of a particular name. Sometimes the name is written in full, and sometimes it is abbreviated; the most extreme abbreviation is the one-letter designation L., which stands for Linnaeus. In some cases, authority designations may become quite complex, reflecting taxonomic reclassifications (for example, Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench.). In your case, simply copy the authority citation exactly as you find it, without changing any capitalization or punctuation. The authority is not underlined nor italicized.
8.Many sources may also attach additional taxonomic information after a name, such as the family to which this species belongs. Names of families, orders, classes, phyla, and kingdoms are not italicized nor underlined. One hint that may help you to recognize when this has been done is to remember that most animal families end in the suffix -idae, while most plant families end in the suffix -aceae.
9. When dealing with titles retrieved from computer databases, scientific names are often mangled, and you have to reconstruct them. Most databases cannot italicize or underline. Sometimes they may place a hyphen between the genus and specific epithet (so that the name indexes as a single keyword). Other punctuation may be omitted. Thus, some guesswork may be in order. It would not be surprising to see a title from a database like the following: the therapeutic value of Echinacea‑purpurea L Moench Asteraceae. It would be up to you to correct this to: The therapeutic value of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench (Asteraceae).
Thanks...
http://alpha.furman.edu/~pollard/bio22/species.htm
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