Have you ever wondered why scientists around the world prefer to use those difficult names over the name everyone knows? Why do they use those names most of us can't even speak? Today the kids school will end once and for all with your doubt!
Imagine that you, having a conversation with a friend, tell you that you saw a lovely armadillo ball. You say the name of the animal, but your friend has never heard of this animal. After explaining the characteristics, he understands who you're talking about, but explains that this animal is known to him as a pussy. You, of course, are confused, as you neither knew nor knew this name.
What you and your friend were using were popular names, the such names that everyone knows. However, you didn't imagine that the armadillo had so many different names. Only for this species of armadillo there are about six distinct names: armadillo-bola, armadillo-swarf, ball, ball, tranquinha and armadillo-bola-do-nordeste. We can see the variation of names according to the place we visit.
Despite so many popular names, the armadillo presents only a scientific name: Tolypeutes tricinctus. This name, however difficult, is unique. Thus, anywhere on the planet, researchers will know that it is the armadillo.
You scientific names are unique, as there are no two or more valid scientific names for the same living being. Therefore, there is no confusion among researchers, as there are no variations like those that occur with the popular name.
Every scientific name is written in Latin or is derived from that language. As Latin is not the official language of any country, it does not suffer any variation. Furthermore, another important feature of a scientific name is that it is usually composed of two names, which together form the name of a particular species.
The rules for writing the scientific name were created by Carl von Linné in 1735, however, they have undergone some variations to the present day. Lineu, as he is known by Brazilians, proposed norms that are still used today by all scientists to name living beings.
Now that you've learned the importance of scientific names, how about learning some of them?
- Bee- Apis mellifera
- Puppy - familiar kennels
- Monarch butterfly- Danaus plexippus
- Ox - good taurus
- Cat - Felis catus
- Wolf - kennels lupus
- Mosquito of dengue- Aedes aegypti
- Humpback Whale -Megaptera novaeangliae
- Hipoppotamus - Hippopotamus amphibius
- Jaguar - panthera onca
- African elephant - African Loxodonta
- Giraffe - Giraffa camelopardalis
- Panda - Ailuropoda melanoleuca
- Tomato- solanum lycopersicum
- Pequi tree - Caryocar Brasiliense
- Lemon Tree -citrus lemon
