Scientific Names of Animals

You may be surprised if someone says that the national bird of the United States of America is Haliaeetus leucocephalus, but it's cent percent true. Basically, the name Haliaeetus leucocephalus is the scientific name for Bald eagle - which is the national bird as well as symbol of the United States of America. It is but obvious that all of us refer to various animals by their common names, but these common names of animals tend to differ from one region to another. This is where the scientific names come into the picture and help zoologists, researchers, scientists, etc. to identify different species. Simply put, these names are used to categorize these animal species in a system known as taxonomy.

Scientific Names

The formal system of naming different species - animals as well as plants, is known as binomial nomenclature or binominal nomenclature. While the terms 'binomial name' and 'bionominal name' both are technically correct, the term 'scientific name' is much more popular than both of them. Each of these animal's scientific name has two parts - the first part represents the genus (a taxonomic group containing one or more species) while the second part represents the species (a taxonomic group whose members can interbreed.) Some sources also refer to scientific names as 'Latin names', but the fact that the words used to create these names are not always taken from Latin language makes the use of this term technically incorrect.

The credit of developing this naming system of species goes to the Swedish botanist and physician - Carl von Linné aka Carolus Linnaeus, who attempted to describe the entire natural world by giving all the species a two-part scientific name. Whilst writing the scientific names of any species, you need to keep a note of the fact that the first letter of the genus name is always written in its capital form, while the first letter of species name or species descriptor is never started with a capital letter - even if it is derived from a proper noun. Other than the genus name and species name, some sub-species can are also given a trinomial name (in case of animals it is referred to as trinomen.)

List of Scientific Names of Animals

With millions of animal species inhabiting this planet, it is very difficult to compile a single list of scientific names which would include each and every member of kingdom Animalia. An easier way out is to compile a list which would include all the poplar names of Kingdom Animalia. Being easier to understand, such list will serve the purpose of explaining the entire concept revolving around the scientific names of common animals pretty well.

Common Name	Scientific Name	Common Name	Scientific Name
Aardvark	Orycteropus afer	Gray squirrel	Sciurus carolinensis
Aardwolf	Proteles cristata	Guinea baboon	Papio papio
African bush elephant	Loxodonta africana	Guinea pig	Cavia cobaya
Amazon river dolphin	Inia geoffrensis	Hedgehog	Erinaceus europeaeus
American alligator	Alligator mississippiensis	Hippopotamus	Hippopotamus amphibius
American bison	Bison bison	Horse	Equus caballus
American crow	Corvus brachyrhynchos	Iguana	Iguana iguana
American flamingo	Phoenicopterus ruber	Impala	Aepyceros melampus
American white pelican	Pelecanus erythrorhynchos	Jackal	Canis aureus
Andean condor	Vultur gryphus	Jaguar	Panthera onca
Arabian camel	Camelus dromedarius	Kangaroo rat	Dipodomys phillipsii
Atlantic salmon	Salmo salar	Killer whale	Orcinus orca
Bahaman raccoon	Procyon lotor maynardi	King cobra	Ophiophagus hannah
Bald eagle	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Koala bear	Phascolarctos cinereus
Banded pitviper	Trimeresurus fasciatus	Komodo dragon	Varanus komodoensis
Bee hummingbird	Mellisuga helenae	Leopard	Panthera pardus
Black rhinoceros	Diceros bicornis	Lion	Panthera leo
Black widow spider	Latrodectus mactans	Marsh rabbit	Sylvilagus palustris
Black wildebeest	Connochaetes gnou	Mekong giant catfish	Pangasianodon gigas
Blue whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Nightingale	Luscinia megarhynchos
Bobcat	Lynx rufus	Nine-banded armadillo	Dasypus novemcinctus
California condor	Gymnogyps californianus	North American beaver	Castor canadensis
California sea lion	Zalophus californianus	Northern cardinal	Cardinalis cardinalis
Capybara	Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris	Northern flying squirrel	Glaucomys sabrinus
Caribou (reindeer)	Rangifer tarandus	Ocelot	Felis pardalis
Cheetah	Acinonyx jubatus	Orangutan	Pongo pygmaeus
Common bottlenose dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	Ostrich	Struthio camelus
Common chimpanzee	Pan troglodytes	Peregrine falcon	Falco peregrinus
Cougar	Puma concolor	Polar bear	Ursus maritimus
Coyote	Canis latrans	Praying mantis	Mantis religioso
Dingo	Canis dingo	Red kangaroo	Macropus rufus
Eastern diamondback rattlesnake	Crotalus adamanteus	Red panda	Ailurus fulgens
Elephant seal	Mirounga angustirostris	Snow leopard	Panthera uncia
Elk	Cervus canadensis	Snowy owl	Bubo scandiacus
Emperor penguin	Aptenodytes forsteri	Sparrow	Prunella modularis
Emu	Dromaius novaehollandiae	Sperm whale	Physeter catodon
European otter	Lutra lutra	Spider monkey	Ateles geoffroyi
Four-horned antelope	Tetracerus quadricornis	Spotted halibut	Verasper variegatus
Giant anteater	Myrmecophaga tridactyla	Spotted hyena	Crocuta crocuta
Giant panda	Ailuropoda melanoleuca	Spur-thighed tortoise	Testudo graeca
Giraffe	Giraffa camelopardalis	Tarantula	Lycosa tarentula
Golden hamster	Mesocricetus auratus	Tasmanian devil	Sarcophilus hariisi
Golden-capped fruit bat	Acerodon jubatus	Tiger	Panthera tigris
Gray fox	Urocyon cinereoargenteus	Tiger shark	Galeocerdo cuvieri
Wolf	Canis lupus	Turkey	Meleagris gallopavo
Great spotted kiwi	Apteryx haastii	Virginia opossum	Didelphis virginiana
Great white shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Western gorilla	Gorilla gorilla
Greater dwarf lemur	Cheirogaleus major	White-backed vulture	Gyps africanus
Green anaconda	Eunectes murinus	Wildcat	Felis silvestris
Gray heron	Ardea cinerea	Wolverine	Gulo gulo

With millions of species (and seemingly infinite number of subspecies) of animals inhabiting the Earth, the chances of confusing between two species exist in plenty, and this is where the two part naming system comes as a blessing in disguise. Most important of all, this system of binomial nomenclature also provides stability. When a species has to be transferred from one genus to another, you don't need to change the species descriptor.