Question

Which of the following statements regarding universal rules of nomenclature is wrong?

• A. The first word in a biological name represents the genus and starts with a capital letter.
• B. The first word in the biological name starts with a small letter.
• C. Both the words in a biological name, when handwritten, are separately underlined.
• D. Biological names are generally in Greek and written in italics.

Answer 1

The correct option is D Biological names are generally in Greek and written in italics.

There are certain rules of binomial nomenclature, which are as follows:

(i) The names are generally in Latin language, sometimes in Greek.

(ii) Generic name begins with the capital letter and is placed before the specific name. The specific name begins with a small letter.

(iii) The scientific name should be underlined (if handwritten) or italicised (when printed).

(iv) Name of the authority should be written after specific epithet in an abbreviated form.