Scientific Names of Animals
A brief writeup on scientific names of animals which will explain how and why these names are used for each and every animal species on the planet. Continue reading for more information on two-part scientific names of animals with common names.
You may be surprised if someone says that the national bird of the United States of America is Haliaeetus leucocephalus, but it’s cent percent true. Basically, the name Haliaeetus leucocephalus is the scientific name for Bald eagle – which is the national bird as well as symbol of the United States of America. It is but obvious that all of us refer to various animals by their common names, but these common names of animals tend to differ from one region to another. This is where the scientific names come into the picture and help zoologists, researchers, scientists, etc. to identify different species. Simply put, these scientific names of animals are used to categorize these animal species in a system known as taxonomy.
Scientific Names of Animals The formal system of naming different species – animals as well as plants
, is known as binomial nomenclature or binominal nomenclature. While the terms ‘binomial name’ and ‘bionominal name’ both are technically correct, the term ‘scientific name’ is much more popular than both of them. Each of these animal’s scientific name has two parts – the first part represents the genus (a taxonomic group containing one or more species) while the second part represents the species (a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed.) Some sources also refer to scientific names as ‘Latin names’, but the fact that the words used to create these names are not always from Latin language makes the use of this term technically incorrect.
The credit of developing this naming system of species goes to the Swedish botanist and physician – Carl von Linn” aka Carolus Linnaeus, who attempted to describe the entire natural world by giving all the species a two-part scientific name. Whilst writing the scientific names of any species, you need to keep a note of the fact that the fist letter of the genus name is always written in its capital form, while the first letter of species name or species descriptor is never started with a capital letter – even if it is is derived from a proper noun. Other than the genus name and species name, some sub-species can are also given a trinomial name (in case of animals it is referred to as trinomen.)
List of Scientific Names of Animals With millions of animal species inhabiting this planet, it is very difficult to compile a single list of scientific names of animals
which would include each and every member of kingdom Animalia. An easier way out is to compile a list which would include all the poplar names of Kingdom Animalia. Being easier to understand, such list will serve the purpose of explaining the entire concept revolving around the scientific names of common animals pretty well.
Scientific Names of Animals with Common Names
Common Name
Scientific Name
Common Name
Scientific Name
Aardvark
Orycteropus afer
Grey squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
Aardwolf
Proteles cristata
Guinea baboon
Papio papio
African bush elephant
Loxodonta africana
Guinea pig
Cavia cobaya Amazon river dolphin
Inia geoffrensis
Hedgehog
Erinaceus europeaeus
American alligator
Alligator mississippiensis
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
American bison
Bison bison
Horse
Equus caballus
American crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
Iguana
Iguana iguana American flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
Impala
Aepyceros melampus
American white pelican
Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
Jackal
Canis aureus
Andean condor
Vultur gryphus
Jaguar
Panthera onca Arabian camel
Camelus dromedarius
Kangaroo rat
Dipodomys phillipsii
Atlantic salmon
Salmo salar
Killer whale
Orcinus orca Bahaman raccoon
Procyon lotor maynardi
King cobra
Ophiophagus hannah
Bald eagle
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Koala bear
Phascolarctos cinereus
Banded pitviper
Trimeresurus fasciatus
Komodo dragon
Varanus komodoensis Bee hummingbird
Mellisuga helenae
Leopard
Panthera pardus Black rhinoceros
Diceros bicornis
Lion
Panthera leo
Black widow spider
Latrodectus mactans Marsh rabbit
Sylvilagus palustris
Black wildebeest
Connochaetes gnou
Mekong giant catfish
Pangasianodon gigas
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
Nightingale
Luscinia megarhynchos
Bobcat
Lynx rufus
Nine-banded armadillo
Dasypus novemcinctus
California condor
Gymnogyps californianus
North American beaver
Castor canadensis California sea lion
Zalophus californianus
Northern cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris Northern flying squirrel Glaucomys sabrinus Caribou ( reindeer)
Rangifer tarandus
Ocelot
Felis pardalis
Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
Orangutan
Pongo pygmaeus Common bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
Ostrich
Struthio camelus Common chimpanzee
Pan troglodytes
Peregrine falcon
Falco peregrinus
Cougar
Puma concolor
Polar bear
Ursus maritimus
Coyote
Canis latrans
Praying mantis
Mantis religioso
Dingo
Canis dingo
Red kangaroo
Macropus rufus Eastern diamondback rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
Red panda
Ailurus fulgens
Elephant seal
Mirounga angustirostris
Snow leopard
Panthera uncia
Elk
Cervus canadensis
Snowy owl
Bubo scandiacus
Emperor penguin
Aptenodytes forsteri
Sparrow
Prunella modularis
Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae
Sperm whale
Physeter catodon
European otter
Lutra lutra
Spider monkey
Ateles geoffroyi Four-horned antelope
Tetracerus quadricornis Spotted halibut
Verasper variegatus
Giant anteater
Myrmecophaga tridactyla
Spotted hyena
Crocuta crocuta
Giant panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Spur-thighed tortoise
Testudo graeca
Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
Tarantula
Lycosa tarentula Golden hamster
Mesocricetus auratus
Tasmanian devil
Sarcophilus hariisi Golden-capped fruit bat
Acerodon jubatus
Tiger
Panthera tigris Gray fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Tiger shark
Galeocerdo cuvieri
Wolf
Canis lupus
Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Great spotted kiwi
Apteryx haastii
Virginia opossum
Didelphis virginiana
Great white shark
Carcharodon carcharias Western gorilla
Gorilla gorilla Greater dwarf lemur
Cheirogaleus major White-backed vulture
Gyps africanus
Green anaconda
Eunectes murinus
Wildcat
Felis silvestris
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Wolverine
Gulo gulo
That was a significant bit of information on binomial nomenclature – with special emphasis on scientific names of animals. With millions of species – and seemingly infinite number of subspecies, of animals inhabiting planet Earth, the chances of confusing between two species exist in plenty and this is where the two part naming system comes as a blessing in disguise. Most important of all, this system of binomial nomenclature also provides stability. When a species has to be transferred from one genus to another, you don’t need to change the species descriptor.
