This is the universally accepted system for providing scientific names to organisms, established by Carolus Linnaeus.
Each scientific name has two components: the Generic name (genus) and the specific epithet (species).
Example: The scientific name for mango is Mangifera indica.
Mangifera represents the genus.
indica represents the specific epithet.
Universal Rules of Binomial Nomenclature:
Language and Format: Biological names are generally in Latin and written in italics. They are Latinised or derived from Latin, regardless of their origin.
Components: The first word represents the genus, and the second word denotes the specific epithet.
Writing Convention: When handwritten, both words are separately underlined. When printed, they are in italics to indicate their Latin origin.
Capitalization: The genus name starts with a capital letter, while the specific epithet starts with a small letter (e.g., Mangifera indica).
Author Citation: The name of the author who first described the species appears after the specific epithet in an abbreviated form (e.g., Mangifera indica Linn.).