Scientific Naming Etiquette
§The basic rules to followed today:
–Italicize (or underline if
handwritten)
–Genus is always capitalized
–Species is always lower case, even when based on a name
–For hard core science, the name is followed by the abbreviated name of the bloke who named it, and sometimes even the year
–If next to a common name, the scientific name is always in
parenthesis
–Spell it out in full first, then abbreviate the genus if repeated
§Popular
exceptions: E. coli and T. Rex
–Use the abbreviation “sp.” or “spec.” if the species is unknown
§Example: The
Four Loons are known to struggle with Accipter sp.
–Use “cf.” if the identification is shaky
§Did you see
the wings on that woodpecker?
§Example: The
Lagerhead Shrikes checklist included Campephilus
cf. principalis