- Exam
- NEET
- Subject
- Botany
- Chapter
- The Living World
NEET · Botany · The Living World
In what language are biological names generally written?
Options
- AEnglish
- BFrench
- CLatin
- DGerman
Correct answer
C. Latin
Step-by-step solution
This system of providing a name with two components is called Binomial nomenclature. This naming system given by Carolus Linnaeus is being practised by biologists all over the world. This naming system using a two word format was found convenient. Let us take the example of mango to understand the way of providing scientific names better. The scientific name of mango is written as Mangifera indica. Let us see how it is a binomial name. In this name Mangifera represents the genus while indica, is a particular species, or a specific epithet. Other universal rules of nomenclature are as follows: 1. Biological names are generally in Latin and written in italics. They are Latinised or derived from Latin irrespective of their origin. 2. The first word in a biological name represents the genus while the second component denotes the specific epithet. 3. Both the words in a biological name, when handwritten, are separately underlined, or printed in italics to indicate their Latin origin