Scientific Names of Animals and Plants (original) (raw)
Last Updated : 23 Jul, 2025
**Scientific names of animals and plants are frequently used for categorizing animals and plants based on their genus and species. The Binomial Nomenclature are generally derived from Latin words. **Binomial Nomenclature consists of two names - genus and species.
As the local names vary from place to place and can not be learned easily, scientific names in **Binomial Nomenclature are very helpful in studying animals and plants. Carl Linnaeus gave this system of Binomial Nomenclature. In this article, we will study the rules of binomial nomenclature, and scientific names of some common plants and animals.
Table of Content
- What is Scientific Nomenclature?
- What is Binomial Nomenclature?
- Binomial Nomenclature Rules
- List of Scientific Names of Animals
- List of Scientific Names of Plants
- List of Scientific Name of Extinct Organisms
- Importance of Binomial Nomenclature
What is Scientific Nomenclature?
Scientific Nomenclature is defined as identifying or naming the organisms. In an ecosystem it is very difficult to identify an organism without a proper name. Scientific nomenclature is a type of systematic process for designating species which is generally made up of two name. Therefore nomenclature helps to remember a particular organism by one or two words. A Swedish Botanist Carl Linnaeus gave a system of binomial nomenclature to name all the animals and plants.
**What is Binomial Nomenclature?
Binomial nomenclature is the biological system of naming the organisms. Scientific names in bionomical nomenclature generally consist of two parts. The initial part or the generic name of the scientific name highlights the genus to which an organism belongs. The second part, or the **specific name, identifies the exact species under which the organism falls, within the genus. Binomial nomenclature is often referred to as scientific name.
Binomial Nomenclature Rules
There are some certain rules in Binomial Nomenclature to be followed in order to specify the scientific name of animal and plants. For example, the generic name is written in uppercase, while the specific name is in lowercase. Additionally, the entire name should be italicized when typed and underlined when writing by pen.
| **Modern Humans | |
|---|---|
| **Generic Name | _Homo |
| **Specific Name | _sapiens |
- Every scientific name should be Latinized or derived from Latin.
- The name should be unique to each organism i.e. no two organisms should have the same scientific name.
- The first name should always be the generic name and the second one should always be the species/specific epithet.
- If handwritten it should always be underlined, and if printed then it should be italicized.
- The first alphabet of the generic name should be in capital and the first alphabet of the species epithet should be small, for example, human = _Homo sapiens.
- When required the name of the discoverer or author should be added in abbreviated form after the species epithet, for example, mango = _Mangifera indica Linn.
Based on these rules scientific naming is currently governed by international communities like; the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN) for botanical names, the International Code for Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) for zoological names, the International Code for Bacteriological Nomenclature (ICBact.N) for bacteria, etc.
List of Scientific Names of Animals
Here is the list of scientific names of animals.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| Ant | Formicidae |
| Arabian camel | Camelus dromedarius |
| African elephant | Loxodonta |
| African Cheetah | Acinonyx jubatus jubatus |
| Asian Elephant | Elephas maximus |
| Asian Cheetah | Acinonyx jubatus venaticus |
| Asian Lion | Panthera leo persica |
| Bat | Chiroptera |
| Asian wild water buffalo | Bubalus arnee |
| Buffalo | Bubalus bubalis |
| Bear | Ursidae |
| Bear (Polar) | Ursus maritimus |
| Sun Bear | Helarctos malayanus |
| Blackbuck | Antilope cervicapra |
| Bulbul | Pycnonotidae |
| Butterfly | Rhopalocera |
| Cat | Felis catus |
| Chinkara | Gazella bennettii |
| King Cobra | Ophiophagus hannah |
| Indian Cobra | Naja naja |
| Cockroach | Blattodea |
| Indian Cow | Bos indicus |
| European Cow | Bos taurus |
| Indian Crocodile | Crocodylus palustris |
| Indian fish eating crocodile (Ghadiyal or Gharial) | Gavialis gangetica |
| Dog | Canis lupus familiaris |
| Gangetic Dolphin | Platanista gangetica |
| Eagle | Accipitridae |
| Fish | Vertebrata |
| Golden or Himalayan Mahseer fish | Tor putitora |
| Red fox | Vulpes vulpes |
| Indian fox or Bengal fox | Vulpes bengalensis |
| Hen | Gallus gallus domesticus |
| Horse | Equus caballus |
| House crow | Corvus splendens |
| Housefly | Musca domestica |
| Goat | Capra aegagrus hircus |
| House wall Lizard | Hemidactylus flaviviridis |
| Indian or House sparrow | Passer domesticus |
| Parrot | Psittaciformes |
| Indian Python | Python molurus |
| Koel | Eudynamys scolopaceus |
| Indian snow leopard | Panthera uncia |
| Indian Bengal Tiger | Panthera tigris tigris |
| Red Panda | Ailurus fulgens |
| White bellied musk deer or Himalayan musk deer | Moschus leucogaster |
| Deer | Cervidae |
| Western Tragopan or Jujurana (king of birds) | Tragopan melanocephalus |
| Himalayan Monal | Lophophorus impejanus |
| Kashmir Stag | Cervus elaphus hanglu |
| Chimpanzee | Pan troglodytes |
| Grasshopper | |
| Gray Langur | Semnopithecus |
| Old world monkeys | Cercopithecidae |
| Indian Wolf | Canis lupus pallipes |
| Himalayan Sheepdog | Canis lupus familiaris |
| Sheep | Ovis aries |
| Indian Peacock | Pavo cristatus |
| Zebra | Equus quagga |
List of Scientific Names of Plants
Here is the list of scientific name of plants.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| Apple | Malus domestica |
| Barley | Hordeum vulgare |
| Brinjal | Solanum melongena |
| Banyan | Ficus benghalensis |
| Black gram | Plasoes mungo |
| Black pepper | piper nigrum |
| Cotton | Gossypium herbaceum |
| Curry leaf | Murraya koenigii |
| Coriander | Coriandrum sativum |
| Capsicum | Capsicum fruitscence |
| Cucumber | Cucumis sativas |
| Chiku | Achras sapota |
| Guava | Psidium guava |
| Garlic | Allium sativum |
| Ginger | Zingiber officinale |
| Green Gram | Phaseolies aulicus |
| Grapes | Vitis vinifera |
| Horse Gram | Dolichos biffoeus |
| Jowar | Sorghum vulgare |
| Lemon | Citrus limonium |
| Mango | Mangifera indica |
| Jack fruit | Artocarpus integra |
| Jute | Corchorus |
| Onion | Allium cepa |
| Orange | Citrus aurantium |
| Kadamb | Anthocephalus |
| Maize | Zea mays |
| Dragon fruit | Hylocereus undatus |
| Lady's Finger | Abelmoschus esculentus |
| Neem | Azadirachta indica |
| Mint | Mentha arvensis |
| Money Plant | Epipremnum aureum |
| Pea | Pisum sativum |
| Potato | Solanum tuberosum |
| Papaya | Carica papaya |
| Pomegranate | Punica granatum |
| Peepal | Ficus religiosa linn. |
| Tobacco | Nicotina tobaccum |
| Tomato | Solanum lycopersicum |
| Tulsi | Ocimum sanctum |
| Turmeric | Curcuma longa |
| Soya bean | Glycine max |
| Sandalwood | Santalum album |
| Sal Tree | Shorea robusta |
| Tea | Camellia sinensis |
| Coffee | Coffea |
| Babul tree | Vachellia nilotica |
| Teak wood | Tectona grandis |
| Rice | Oryza sativa |
| Wheat | Triticum |
| Watermelon | Citrullus lanatus |
List of Scientific Name of Extinct Organisms
Here is the list of scientific names of some popular extinct organisms.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
|---|---|
| Passenger pigeon | _Ectopistes migratorius |
| Tasmanian tiger | _Thylacinus cynocephalus |
| Moa | _Dinornithiformes |
| T-Rex | _Tyrannosaurus rex |
| Great auk | _Pinguinus impennis |
| Megalodon | _Carcharocles megalodon |
Importance of Binomial Nomenclature
Importance of binomial nomenclature are given below:
- It shortened the long forms of scientific naming that were designed earlier which were very inconvenient.
- It helped in the removal of confusion associated with local naming.
- It made the remembering and documenting process easy.
- It gave a standard, and universally accepted naming system.
Conclusion - Scientific Names of Animals And Plants
In conclusion, scientific names for animals and plants established through binomial nomenclature, provide a systematic and universally accepted means of categorization based on genus and species. This system, devised by Carl Linnaeus, facilitates precise communication and study of organisms across languages and regions. By adhering to specific rules and guidelines, such as Latinization and unique naming, binomial nomenclature ensures clarity and consistency in scientific study.
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