Scientific Names of Plants and Animals Questions and Answers

Answer: C

They are the genus and species.

Linnaeus's system gives every organism a two-part Latin name: the genus capitalised, the specific epithet in lower case, both italicised - Homo sapiens, Panthera tigris. The genus is shared with close relatives; the pair together is unique.

Answer: A

It is binomial nomenclature.

Linnaeus set it out in Species Plantarum of 1753 and Systema Naturae, replacing the long descriptive Latin phrases in use before. Its value is that one name means the same organism in every language.

Answer: A

It represents the species.

The second word is the specific epithet, written in lower case, and it identifies the species within its genus. It is never used alone - sapiens means nothing without Homo.

Answer: A

It is Aquila chrysaetos.

The golden eagle is one of the most widely distributed birds of prey in the northern hemisphere. Chrysaetos means golden eagle in Greek, from the colour of its nape feathers.

Answer: A

It is Brachylagus idahoensis.

The pygmy rabbit of the American west is the smallest rabbit in North America and the only one there that digs its own burrow. The other options are a shrew, a bighorn sheep and a woodrat.

Answer: B

It is Melanerpes lewis.

Lewis's woodpecker is named after Meriwether Lewis, who first described it on the expedition of 1804-06. Unlike most woodpeckers it catches insects in flight rather than drilling for them.

Answer: B

It is Helianthus annuus.

Helianthus means sun flower in Greek and annuus annual. Young sunflower buds track the sun through the day, but the mature flower head stops moving and faces east.

Answer: A

It is Ananas comosus.

Ananas comes from the Tupi word nanas, excellent fruit. The pineapple is not a single fruit but a syncarp, formed from the fused fruits of up to two hundred separate flowers.

Answer: A

It is Carica papaya.

The papaya is the only species in its genus grown for fruit. Its latex contains papain, a protease used to tenderise meat and in digestive preparations.

Answer: C

It is Hordeum vulgare.

Barley was among the first cereals domesticated in the Fertile Crescent, about 10,000 years ago, and is the most salt-tolerant of the major grains. Eleusine coracana is finger millet or ragi.