Question

Select the correctly written botanical/zoological name.
(This question has multiple correct options)
A. Homo Sapiens
B. Panthera tigris
C. Pisum sativum
D. Mangifera Indica

Answer 1

All biologists follow internationally agreed and accepted codes of rules or principles while assigning scientific names to know or newly discovered organisms. Carolus Linnaeus developed binomial nomenclature for scientific naming of organisms.

Complete answer: The binomial nomenclature system provides distinct and proper scientific naming to a variety of organisms. Each organism is given only a name consisting of two words. The first word in the scientific name represents the genus, while the second component denotes the specific epithet. The first word denoting the genus starts with a capital letter, while the specific epithet starts with a small letter. This naming system that uses two words format is universally accepted. In option (A) and (D), the first word of the specific epithet part is written in capital letter, which is incorrect as per the rule. Therefore, both are incorrect. Some universal rules of nomenclature framed under codes of ICZN and ICBN are as follows;
a) Biological names are generally derived from the Latin language irrespective of their origin.
b) The scientific name is printed in italics or underlined separately when handwritten to indicate their Latin origin.
Hence, the correct answer is option B and D.

Note: In binomial nomenclature, the kingdom comes to the top, followed by the phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. For example; Pisum is the genus, sativum is the species, therefore, it should be written as Pisum sativum (pea plant).