NEETBotanyThe Living World
A student writes the scientific name of the lion by hand in a notebook as Panthera leo. The student ensures that the first letter of the first word is capitalized and the second word starts with a small letter. Which of the following universal rules of binomial nomenclature has the student violated in this scenario?
Options
- ABiological names are generally in Latin and written in italics.
- BThe first word denoting the genus starts with a capital letter while the specific epithet starts with a small
- CName of the author appears after the specific epithet and is written in an abbreviated form.
- DBoth the words in a biological name, when handwritten, are separately underlined.
Correct answer
D. Both the words in a biological name, when handwritten, are separately underlined.
Step-by-step solution
According to the universal rules of binomial nomenclature, both the words in a biological name, when handwritten, must be separately underlined, or printed in italics to indicate their Latin origin. In the given scenario, the student correctly followed the capitalization rules (genus Panthera is capitalized, specific epithet leo is in lowercase) but failed to underline the handwritten name. The rule regarding author citation is not a mandatory part of the basic two-word format unless specifically required, and the