Question

The scientific name of mango is written as Mangifera indica l. Pick up the correct statement about the significance of the letter ‘L’.
A) Letter ‘L’ signifies Latin language.
B) The name is reversed with indica preceding Mangifera.
C) Letter ‘L’ signifies the taxonomist, Linnaeus.
D) Letter ‘L’ is superfluous.

Answer 1

Mangifera indica L. is the scientific name of mango. This system of naming natural genera and species of organisms to create a uniform system of naming them i.e. binomial nomenclature was framed by Carl Linnaeus.

Complete answer:
Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who formalized binomial nomenclature. He is called the “father of modern taxonomy”. In botany and zoology, the abbreviation L. is used to show Linnaeus as the authority for a species’ name.Linnaeus was the son of a curate and was born in Smaland in southern Sweden. His early interest was in botany. He began his studies in medicine in 1727 at Lund University, but he transferred to Uppsala University in 1728. His ‘Systema Naturae’ was published in 1735 and his folio of 11 pages had a hierarchical classification, or taxonomy, of the three kingdoms of nature: stones, plants, and animals. Each kingdom was subdivided into classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties. This hierarchy replaced the old system of biological classification that were based on mutually exclusive divisions, or dichotomies. Linnaeus’ classification is still used, though additional ranks like families have been introduced to accommodate the growing number of species.His most lasting achievement was the making of binomial nomenclature, the system of classifying and naming organisms based on their genus and species. This served as a tag by which the species could be universally addressed.
Other fields in which Linnaeus exerted some long lasting influence were geology, mineralogy, entomology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, etc.

Hence, the correct answer is option C, “Letter ‘L’ signifies the taxonomist, Linnaeus”.

Note: In contrast to the widely held view that scientific names are fixed and universal, continuing research on organisms are causing disagreements among scientists on the validity of certain names and it results in multiple names used by some well-known species. However, the international rules are bringing stability to the taxonomy of many groups by minimizing the name changes, and the use of standard methods of establishing new names.