Why is nomenclature useful

Red foxes Vulpes vulpes are wild dogs but they are not as closely related to wolves or coyotes and so they are placed in a different genus: Vulpes. Because systematists scientists who study evolutionary relationships frequently discover relationships between species that were formerly thought to be unrelated, there is considerable flux in the lower levels of the Linnaean system.

Even higher levels of classification are prone to revision. Birds, for example, originally boasted their own class: Aves. However, molecular evidence supporting the fossil record recently revealed that crocodiles are more closely related to birds than they are to snakes and lizards.

Because birds evolved from a crocodilian ancestor within the reptile group, they have been recently reassigned to the class Reptilia. Reproduction Rights Credits Explore Nature! Scientific names sometimes bear the names of people who were instrumental in discovering or describing the species. Finally, some scientific names often reflect the common names given by people living in the region.

Scientific names are treated grammatically as if they were a Latin phrase. However, species names are commonly reused, and are usually an adjectival modifier to the genus name, which is a noun. Family names are often derived from a common genus within the family.

The Value of Scientific Names. Unlike scientific names, common names are not unique. Many common names may be easier to remember and pronounce than scientific names, but common names are not as precise. The common name of a particular insect or other animal or plant might apply to several very different insects. Conversely, a single species can oftentimes be known by an array of very different common names!

As a result, common name usage can lead to confusion about what animal is being referred to and what their relationships are to other animals. When handwritten they should be underlined. Examples: Chrysoperla carnea or Chrysoperla carnea.

Example: Green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea. The Bauhin brothers were using the binomial nomenclature almost years earlier. Many of the generic names introduced by them were adopted by Linnaeus. Binomial nomenclature proved to be essential in the scientific community.

Through this system, taxonomists from all around the world can identify a species in unison. Unlike the common names that can differ from one language to another, a scientific name proved to be more consistent. Not only will scientists and taxonomists evade inconsistency issues but they can also have an idea of the genus through which a species belongs, and therefore, have an idea of the attributes that members of the genus share. Thus, it is not surprising that the scientific community continues to adopt a naming system to this day.

They provide guidelines for the proper citation of animal binomial names. The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants ICNafp is the code that sets the botanical names of plants, including algae and fungi. It is formerly known as the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.

These governing systems or codes operate independently of one another. Because of this, they could use generic names for animals that are already in use for plants. Thus, there are instances when the genus of a plant is encountered in animals although the two species are obviously unrelated phylogenetically.

Tautonym, where the generic name and the specific name are the same, is not allowed in ICNafp. However, it is permitted in ICZN. The main objective of these codes is to provide a name that can be consistently used for a species that is perceptible. In discussing chemistry nomenclatures is it necessary to identify the type of compound including stoichiometry and type of constituent atoms. The first separation of importance is to distinguish between inorganic and organic compounds.

Unfortunately, this separation is not always clear.