Binomial Nomenclature

The binomial nomenclature system gives every species a specific,two-part scientific name.

When forming an organism's scientific name, remember that the genus is the first word (capitalize the first letter), and the species name is the second word (lowercase first letter) of the two-part name (e.g., Homo sapiens).In the following table, you will notice that humans and the American robin are in the same domain, kingdom, and phylum but are in different classes. The scientific name for each is listed. You will notice that it is made up of two names and written in italics: Genus species. The common name is neither capitalized nor written in italics: mountain lion, caribou, American robin.

Two organisms are more closely related if they have more similarities in their classification. Humans and robins are of the same Domain, Kingdom, and Phylum.