Binomial nomenclature (Basic science review)

Binomial nomenclature basically means “the method of naming things using two names”.

Scientific names of species are generated using the following rules:

Two words are used. The first is the genus and the second is the species.
The first word is capitalized, and the second word is not.
The words are typically a combination of Greek or Latin roots (although not always).
The words are italicized.

Scientific names are often abbreviated by shortening the genus name to a single letter: Xenopus laevis shortens to X. laevis

Here are some examples:

Common name	Scientific name	Comment
Bald eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Names are often descriptive: “leuco” means “white”, “cephalus” means “head”
Timber rattlesnake	Crotalus horridus	Sometimes names represent how the namer feels about the species
American bison	Bison bison	Often the genus name is repeated as the species name for the primary species within the genus
E. coli	Escherichia coli	The genus name is named after Theodor Escherich, a German physician. The species name comes from the colon where E. coli often lives. In this case, there was no common name before it was discovered, and so people shorten its scientific name.
African elephant	Loxodonta africana	Often the species name represents where the species is found

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