All living things, including every plant species and every animal species, have a common name and a scientific name. The common name is how we refer to the plants and animals around us every day, for example, “Australian Wood Duck” is a common name.

What are some other common names of plants and animals around us?

Can you think of some common names for animals? There are so many! Dogs, koalas, and magpies are all common animal names.

What about plants? How many common plant names can you think of? There are apple trees, daisies, eucalyptus trees, and so many more!

But each of these plants or animals also has a unique (one-of-a-kind) scientific name. The scientific name is how each living species is named by scientists. These names are important because they are the same in every language, and so they allow all people across the whole world to talk about the same living species. Scientific names are also important because they can tell us a lot about the characteristics that certain living species have in common.

All scientific names have two parts. This system is called ‘binomial nomenclature’, which means ‘two-part name’. The first part of the scientific name is called the generic name, which identifies the genus that the plant or animal belongs to. A genus is a group of animals that have similar characteristics. Wolves, dogs, and dingos are all members of the genus Canis. The genus name is always written in italics and is capitalised. The second part of the scientific name is the specific name, which identifies the species of the plant or animal. The specific name is what differentiates each creature in the genus. The species name of the wolf is lupus. The species name is always written in lowercase and is italicised. Together, the genus name and the species name make up the scientific name of the species. Thus, the scientific name of a wolf is Canis lupus.