binomen

In zoology, a binomen, or binominal name, is the name of a species. The term was introduced in 1953.

A binomen is a name consisting of two names: generic name and specific name. Both names are typeset in italics, but only the generic name is capitalised.

Canis lupus the wolf.

If the generic name has already been mentioned in the same paragraph, it is often abbreviated to the initial letter in subsequent uses (C. lupus).

In a taxonomic publication, a name is incomplete without an author citation and publication details. This indicates who published the name; in what publication; with the date of the publication.

It is incorrect to refer to the genus and species as part of a "binomial" nomenclature. Binomial refers to a probability distribution based on a process known as a Bernoulli trial. Instead, the correct term is binominal nomenclature, which consists of a binomen, the genus and species.

See also

• Nomenclature Codes
• binominal nomenclature
• in plants, a species gets a two part name, a binary name.

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