Naming a Species:

Binomial system of nomenclature. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature

(ICZN) controls the naming of a new animal species.
Linnaeus introduced the binomial system of nomenclature in naming a new
species and this method is still in use.
A species is designated by a name which has TWO parts; the first portion of the
name indicates the Genus to which the species belongs while the second part
denotes the Specific name/ Trivial name. This is known as Binomial
Nomenclature.
Both the parts are Latinized English words so that it becomes understandable
throughout the world.
Regarding the establishment of species name, the following procedure is
followed:
Choice of a name, Publication name with the description, illustration and
designation of type specimen.
Example. Scientific name of Cat of Bengal is Felis bengalensis kerr. (1792)
A few rules regarding the naming of species are as follows.
1) The generic name must be initiated with a capital letter and specific name
must be initiated with a small letter. Both the names should be underlined
when written, while when published they should be Italicized.

2) There is a considerable latitude of choice of words to be chosen as generic

or specific names, such as Latinized name of some eminent person or name
of a locality, or a word indicating a diagnostic feature of the species.
Example: Wagenophyllum indicum. (A Permian coral named in the honor
of Wagen who was a German Palaeontologist. Indicum is Latinized word of
India from where it was first recorded.)
Homo sapiens: (Homo- man, sapiens- sensible or wise)
3) There must be one author who erected the new species however there
may be >1 author.
When an author of a species assigns it into a different genus instead of the
one to which it is actually attributed; the name of the author has to be
enclosed within parenthesis after subsequent modification of the name.
Modified name of Ammonite simplex by Von Buch is Torneceras simplex
(Von Buch).

4) Sub-generic name when introduced should be written in the same manner

as generic name and should be put in between generic and specific names.
Example: Lepidocylina (Eolepidina) dilatafa.
Sub-specific name, if any, should be written in the same way as specific
name right after the specific name. In such case, the name becomes
trinomial.
Example: Homo sapiens sapiens.

The “Status Variety” is often used in Palaeontology for denoting simple

individual variants or morphotypes. This variety name may be designated
after the specific name by adding the word “Vav”, “f”, “in”.
Example: Kepplerites goveraneous ‘f’ ventralis.