What is binomial naming?

Answer 1

In taxonomy, a binomial name is a name consisting of two parts. A binomial name may also be called a Latin name or scientific name.

An example is: Carcharodon carcharias

This is the binomial name of the Great White Shark. The first part (Carcharodon) is capitalised and is called the genus. The second part is the species and is never capitalised. Binomial names/scientific names are always italicised, or if written on paper, underlined.

The binomial system was developed by 'the father of taxonomy', Carolus Linnaeus. The names are usually Latin or Greek or combinations thereof. Everything is classified with a binomial/scientific name - all bacteria, algae, protozoa, fungi, plants and animals and all extinct life like dinosaurs and trilobites and predinosaurian reptiles too.

More examples are Loxodonta africana - the African elephant

and Eunectes murinus - a species of anaconda

and Dendrobates azureus - a poison arrow frog

and Tipuana tipu - a species of Brazilian tree

The genus is a grouping, for related species to demonstrate their similarity and evolutionary close-relatedness. All dogs belong to the same genus, all foxes to another genus and the 'odder' dogs to their own specific genera (plural of genus) like the African wild dog, the dhole and the bush dog which are all the sole extant members of their genera (Lycaon, Cuon and Speothos respectively).

To illustrate the grouping of species into a genus;

Dendrobates has many species;

Dendrobates azureus

Dendrobates amazonicus

Dendrobates lehmanni

Dendrobates reticularius

And the dogs I mentioned;

Canis familiaris

Canis lupus

Canis mesomelas

And the foxes (here, as with the dogs, are only a few);

Vulpes corsac

Vulpes bengalensis

Vulpes chama

Vulpes pallida

Vulpes vulpes

Vulpes zerda

Answer 2

A binomial name is a scientific name at the rank of species,with two terms:a generic name and a specific name