Question

Which among the following statements are correct?

(a) All the biological names have their origin in Latin

(b) The first word in a biological name represents the species and the next represents genus

(c) Canis lupus familaris is the binomial nomenclature of a dog

(d) Panthera Tigress is the binomial nomenclature of a tiger

The question was asked during an internship interview.

This intriguing question originated from Diversity in the Living World topic in division The Living World of Biology – Class 11

Answer 1

Right choice is (b) The first word in a biological name represents the species and the next represents genus

For explanation I would say: Biological names need not have their origin in Latin but need to be Latinized or to be derived from Latin irrespective of the origin. Also in binomial nomenclature the generic epithet should start with a capital letter followed by the specific epithet starting with a small letter.