Scientific Names of Animals And Plants: The Scientific Names of Animals And Plants in taxonomy are a two-part naming system composed of genus and species. A genus in the scientific name specifies the genus to which organisms belong whereas Species in the scientific name specifies the species to which that organism belongs. This binomial/Scientific nomenclature is a widely used, formal system of naming a species. So in this article, we will discuss the scientific names of animals and plants in more detail.

What is Scientific Nomenclature?

There are billions of plants and animals in the world that are known to us by their local names. These local names would vary from region to region, even within a country. Therefore, these local naming would create probable confusion among the scientist for reference. Hence in order to standardize the naming of living organisms such that a particular organism is known all over the world This process is called nomenclature. This formal method of naming living organisms so that such names have not been used for any other known organism is called as Scientific nomenclature. Also, it is referred to as Binomial nomenclature. 

For example, The scientific name of mango is Mangifera indica, so here Magnifera is a genus name and indica is the species name.

Who is the father of Scientific Nomenclature?

This method of formal naming living organisms was pioneered by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus and is followed all over the world. He published the concept of the binomial nomenclature in his book ‘Species Plantarum’ in 1753 and later mentioned it in Systema Naturae (1758). 

How to Write Scientific Names?

In order to ease the study, a number of scientists have established procedures to assign a scientific name to each known organism. The international code has been recognized by biologists all over the world in order to ensure the distinct identity of organisms all over the world, that is as follows:

  • For plants, scientific names are based on agreed principles and criteria, which are detailed in International Code for Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN). 
  • For Animals, Scientific names based upon the principle of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) have evolved. 

Universal Rules of Nomenclature

The universal rules relating to nomenclature are- 

  1. Biological names are generally in Latin and usually written in italics.
  2. The first word in a biological name is the genus while the second component denotes the species name.
  3. Both the words in a biological name, when handwritten should be underlined separately or printed in italics to indicate their Latin origin.
  4. The first word representing the genus starts with a capital letter while the species name starts with a small letter. It can be illustrated with the example of Mangifera indica. (Scientific name of Mango)

Scientific Names of Animals

Below is the list of scientific names of animals-

Scientific Names of Animals
AnimalsScientific Names
AntFormicidae
Arabian camelCamelus dromedarius
African elephantLoxodonta
AlbatrossDiomedeidae
AlpacaVicugna pacos
Asian ElephantElephas maximus
BatChiroptera
BirdAves
Brown Tree SnakeBoiga irregularis
GaurBos gaurus
GoatCapra aegagrus hircus
BearUrsidae
Polar bearUrsus maritimus
Sun bearHelarctos malayanus
BlackbuckAntilope cervicapra
Black ratRattus rattus
BuffaloBubalus bubalis
BulbulPycnonotidae
ButterflyRhopalocera
CatFelis catus
CheetahAcinonyx jubatus
ChinkaraGazella bennettii
CobraNaja
CockroachBlattodea
Common MynaAcridotheres tristis
CowBos taurus
CrocodileCrocodylus palustris
DeerCervidae
DogCanis lupus familiaris
DolphinCetacea
EagleAccipitridae
ElephantElephantidae
fishVertebrata
Red foxVulpes vulpes
Gavial or GharialGavialis gangeticus
GiraffeGiraffa camelopardalis
Great horned owlBubo virginianus
HenGallus gallus domesticus
HippopotamusHippopotamus amphibius
HorseEquus caballus
House crowCorvus splendens
HouseflyMusca domestica
House mouseMus musculus
House sparrowPasser domesticus
House wall LizardHemidactylus flaviviridis
Indian CobraNaja naja
ParrotPsittaciformes
Indian PythonPython molurus
Kashmir stag or hangulCervus canadensis hanglu
King cobraOphiophagus hannah
KoelEudynamys scolopaceus
Leopard or pantherPanthera pardus
MonkeySimiiformes (infraorder)
MosquitoCulicidae
LionPanthera leo
LizardSquamata
NilgaiBoselaphus tragocamelus
PeacockPavo cristatus
PigSus
PrawnDendrobranchiata
RabbitOryctolagus cuniculus
RatRodentia
Rat snakePtyas mucosa
Rattle snakeCrotalinae
Rhesus monkeyMacaca mulatta
RhinocerosRhinoceros unicornis
Sea snakeHydrophiinae
SheepOvis aries
Siberian craneGrus leucogeranus
SnakeheadChannidae
SparrowPasser domesticus
SpiderAraneae
StarfishAsteroidea
TigerPanthera tigris
Tiger SnakeNotechis scutatus
Wild AssEquus africanus asinus
Wild boarSus scrofa
WolfCanis lupus
ZebraEquus quagga
EarthwormLumbricus
GrasshopperCaelifera
Honey BeeApis
PigeonColumba livia
snakeSerpentes

Scientific Names of Plants

Below is the list of scientific names of plants-

Scientific Names of Plants-
PlantsScientific Names
AppleMalus domestica
BambooBamboosa aridinarifolia
BananaMusa paradisiaca
BanyanFicus benghalensis
Black GramPlasoes mungo
Black PepperPiper nigrum
BrinjalSolanum melongena
CapsicumCapsicum frutescens
CarrotDaucas carota
CloveSyzygium aromaticum
CorianderCoriandrum sativum
CottonGossypium herbaceum
CucumberCucumis sativus
Curry plantMurraya koenigii
DrumstickMoringa oleifera
GarlicAllium sativum
GingerZingiber officinale
Green GramPhaseolies aulicus
GuavaPsidium guajava
HennaLawsonia inermis
Horse GramDolichos biffoeus
JowarSorghum vulgare
LemonCitrus limonium
LettuceLactuca sativa
MaizeZea mays
MangoMangifera indica
MintMentha arvensis
Money PlantEpipremnum aureum
NeemAzadirachta indica
OnionAllium cepa
OrangeCitrus aurantium
PineappleAnanas comosus
PotatoSolanum tuberosum
RadishRaphanus sativus
Red GramCajanus cajan
SandalwoodSantalum album
SpinachSpinacia oleracea
TobaccoNicotina tobaccum
TomatoSolanum lycopersicum
TulsiOcimum sanctum
TurmericCurcuma longa
WatermelonCitrullus vulgaris
WheatTriticum aestivum

 

Scientific Names of Animals And Plants-FAQs

Ans. This formal method of naming living organisms so that such names have not been used for any other known organism is called as Scientific nomenclature. Also, it is referred to as Binomial nomenclature. For example, The scientific name of mango is Mangifera indica, so here Magnifera is a genus name and indica is the species name.

Ans. This method of formal naming living organisms was pioneered by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.

Ans. The Scientific name of Mango is Mangifera indica.

Ans. The Scientific name of Human beings is Homo sapiens.

Ans. The Scientific name of Tulsi is Ocimum tenuiflorum.

Important Links