Where does the taxonomy of species from?

[SFNQuestions]

Who comes up with the names? How do they come up with them? Is there some root language like Latin and then they stick an extra letter at the end or something like that?

[rangerx]

Carl Linnaeus

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus

Conrad Gessner

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Gessner

[jimmydasaint]

 

Rules of TaxonomyEvery known living organism on Earth is classified and named by a set of rules. Those rules are used by all scientists around the planet. The names are called scientific names, not common names. Common names are the ones you might use when talking with your friends. You call your pet a dog or a cat (the common name). Scientists call those animals by a set of several names like Canis familiarus. That's a dog.

 

Scientific NamesScientific names follow a specific set of rules. Scientists use a two-name system called a Binomial Naming System. Scientists name animals and plants using the system that describes the genus and species of the organism. The first word is the genus and the second is the species. The first word is capitalized and the second is not. A binomial name means that it's made up of two words (bi-nomial). Humans are scientifically named Homo sapiens. You may also see an abbreviation of this name as H. sapiens where the genus is only represented by the first letter.

 

TaxonomyThe taxonometric way of classifying organisms is based on similarities between different organisms. A biologist named Carolus Linnaeus started this naming system. He also chose to use Latin words.

 

Taxonomy used to be called Systematics. That system grouped animals and plants by characteristics and relationships. Scientists looked at the characteristics (traits) that each organism had in common. They used the shared derived characteristics of organisms. Scientists were then able to find the common ancestry of the organisms. So if you had a nose, scientists would trace back all creatures that had a nose. Then they thought that you were related to them (because you all had noses). Organisms are now organized by a combination of observable traits and genetics, not one superficial trait (like a nose).

http://www.biology4kids.com/files/studies_taxonomy.html

[SFNQuestions]

Good to know, thanks. But, who comes up with new species that are discovered? Like if something was discovered in 2017...what language do they decide to derive it from or... what?

Edited February 14, 2017 by SFNQuestions

[rangerx]

In modern terms, Michael J. Flynn.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flynn%27s_taxonomy

Good to know, thanks. But, who comes up with new species that are discovered? Like if something was discovered in 2017...what language do they decide to derive it from or... what?

 

New descriptions are usually prefixed by the Latin genus suffixed by the region, author or both.

Occasionally, a broad description is appended. For example Red Wolf is Canis lupus rufus.

I'm not fluent in Latin, but perhaps others will comment or correct.

For example, suffixes such as ica, us or is are used with regions, while ii with author names. The suffix oida describes shell bearing orders.

Edited February 14, 2017 by rangerx