Animal Profiles A to Z: By Scientific Name

We use common names for animals in everyday speech, but scientists have a different method of naming creatures, called "binomial nomenclature," or two-word naming. This scientific naming system avoids confusion when a scientist is speaking to a colleague who speaks another language—or when different animals are given the same name in various regions. For instance, if scientists who speak English, Russian, Spanish, French, or Japanese all are talking about a Balaenoptera musculus, they all know they are speaking about the same animal: It's the sea mammal the English speaker knows as the blue whale.

Latin Words

Latin words are used, with the first term identifying the genus to which the animal belongs—this is the animal's generic name or generic epithet. The second term identifies the species—this is the animal's specific name or specific epithet. While there are 1.2 million known species of animals on earth, there are millions more yet to be discovered. Scientists believe there are a total of 8.7 million species of animals in total.

This list is a small sample of the known animals, but some that most people are familiar with:

Achatina to Aves

Achatina - Snail
Acinonyx Jubatus - Cheetah
Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes
Aegypius Monachus - Vulture
Aepyceros Melampus - Impala
Agalychnis callidryas - Red-eyed tree frog
Ailuropoda melanoleuca - Giant panda
Alces americanus - American moose
Amblyrhynchus cristatus - Marine iguana
Amphibia - Amphibians
Animalia - Animals
Anser indicus - Bar-headed goose
Anseriformes - Waterfowl
Antilocapra americana - Pronghorn
Anura - Frogs and toads
Aplysia californica - California sea hare
Archilochus colubris - Ruby-throated hummingbird
Arthropoda - Arthropoods
Artiodactyla - Even-toed ungulates
Aves - Birds

Baeolophus Bicolor to Bufo Bufo

Baeolophus bicolor - Tufted titmouse
Balaeniceps rex - Shoebill
Balaenoptera musculus - Blue whale
Batoidea - Skates and rays
Bison bison - American bison
Blattaria - Cockroach
Bombus - Bumble Bee
Bos Taurus - Highland Cattle
Brachyura - Crab
Branta canadensis - Canada goose
Branta sandvicensis - Nene goose
Bufo bufo - European common toad

Caelifera to Cyclura Cornuta

Caelifera - Grasshopper
Campephilus principalis - Ivory-billed woodpecker
Canidae - Canids
Canis lupus arctos - Arctic wolf
Capra Aegagrus Hircus - Goat
Caracal caracal - Caracal
Carcharodon carcharias - Great white shark
Caretta caretta - Loggerhead turtle
Carnivora - Carnivores
Castor canadensis - American beaver
Cavia Porcellus - Guinea pig
Cepphus columba - Pigeon guillemot
Ceratotherium simum - White rhinoceros
Cetacea - Cetaceans
Chelonia - Turtles and tortoises
Chelonia mydas - Green sea turtle
Chiroptera - Bats
Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes
Chordata - Chordates
Cichlidae - Cichlids
Ciconiiformes - Herons, storks, ibises and spoonbills
Cnidaria - Cnidaria
Conolophus subcristatus - Galapagos land iguana
Crocodilia - Crocodilians
Cyclura cornuta - Rhinoceros iguana

Danaus Plexippus to Dugong Dugong

Danaus plexippus - Monarch butterfly
Dasyatis Centroura - Stingray
Dasypus novemcinctus - Nine-banded armadillo
Daubentonia madagascariensis - Aye-aye
Delphinus delphis - Common dolphin
Dendrobates auratus - Green poison dart frog
Dermochelys coriacea - Leatherback sea turtle
Didelphis Virginiana - Oppossum
Diceros bicornis - Black rhinoceros
Diomedea exulans - Wandering albatross
Dugong dugong - Dugong

Echinodermata to Eudocimus Ruber

Echinodermata - Echinoderms
Elasmobranchii - Sharks, skates and rays
Electrophorus Electricus - Electric eel
Elephas maximus - Asiatic elephant
Equus asinus somalicus - Somali wild ass
Equus burchellii - Burchell's zebra
Equus caballus przewalskii - Przewalski's wild horse
Eretmochelys imbricata - Hawksbill sea turtle
Erithacus rubecula - European robin
Erethizon Dorsaum - Porcupine
Eschrichtius robustus - Gray whale
Eudocimus ruber - Scarlet ibis

Falconiformes to Fregatidae

Falconiformes - Birds of prey
Felidae - Cats
Felis Concolor - Puma
Fratercula arctica - Atlantic puffin
Fregatidae - Frigatebirds

Galeocerdo Cuvier to Gymnophiona

Galeocerdo Cuvier - Tiger Shark
Gallus Gallus - Chicken
Gastropoda - Gastropods, slugs and snails
Gavialis gangeticus - Gavial
Geochelone nigra - Galapagos tortoise
Giraffa camelopardalis - Giraffe
Gorilla gorilla - Gorilla
Gymnophiona - Caecilians

Heloderma Suspectum to Hyperoodon Ampullatus

Heloderma Suspectum - Gila monster
Helogale Parvula - Mongoose
Hippopotamus amphibus - Hippopotamus
Homo neanderthalensis - Neandertal
Hyaenidae - Hyenas
Hyperoodon ampullatus - Northern bottlenose whale

Iguana to Isoptera

Iguana Iguana - Iguana
Indri Indri - Inrdi
Insecta - Insects
Isoptera - Termite

Lagenorhynchus Acutus to Lynx Rufus

Lagenorhynchus acutus - Atlantic white-sided dolphin
Lagenorhynchus obscurus - Dusky dolphin
Lagomorpha - Hares, rabbits and pikas
Loxodonta africana - African elephant
Lynx lynx - Eurasian lynx
Lynx rufus - Bobcat

Mammalia to Myrmecophaga Tridactyla

Mammalia - Mammals
Marsupialia - Marsupials
Meles meles - European badger
Mephitidae - Skunks and stink badgers
Metazoa - Animals
Microlophus albemarlensis - Lava lizard
Mollusca - Mollusks
Morus bassanus - Northern gannet
Mustela nigripes - Black-footed ferret
Mustelidae - Mustelids
Myrmecophaga tridactyla - Giant anteater

Orcaella Brevirostris to Ornithorhynchus Anatinus

Orcaella brevirostris - Irrawaddy dolphin
Orcinus orca - Orca
Octopus vugaris - Octopus
Odobenus Rosmarus - Walrus
Odocoileus Virginiana - Deer
Ornithorhynchus Anatinus - Platypus

Panthera Leo to Pygoscelis Adeliae

Panthera leo - Lion
Panthera onca - Panther
Panthera pardus - Leopard
Panthera pardus orientalis - Amur leopard
Panthera tigris - Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica - Siberian tiger
Panthera uncia - Snow leopard
Pelicaniformes - Pelicans and relatives
Perissodactyla - Odd-toed ungulates
Phascolarctos cinereus - Koala
Phoca vitulina - Common seal
Phoenicopterus ruber - Greater flamingo
Platalea ajaja - Roseate spoonbill
Pongo pygmaeus - Bornean orangutan
Porifera - Sponges
Proboscidea - Elephants
Propithecus tattersalli - Golden-crowned sifaka
Pterois volitans - Firefish or lionfish
Pteropus rodricensis - Rodriguez flying fox
Puma concolor - Mountain Lion
Pygoscelis adeliae - Adélie penguin

Ramphastos Sulfuratus to Rodentia

Ramphastos Sulfuratus - Keel-billed toucan
Rana Catesbeiana - Bullfrog
Rangifer tarandus - Caribou
Raphus Cucullatus - Dodo
Reptilia - Reptiles
Rhincodon typus - Whale shark
Rodentia - Rodents

Sarcopterygii to Suricata Suricatta

Sarcopterygii - Lobe-finned fishes
Scyphozoa - Jellyfish
Sphenisciformes - Penguins
Sphenodontida - Tuataras
Sphyrnidae - Hammerhead sharks
Squamata - Amphisbaenians, lizards and snakes
Strigiformes - Owls
Struthio camelus - Ostrich
Suidae - Pigs
Sula nebouxii - Blue-footed booby
Suricata suricatta - Meerkat

Tamandua Tetradactyla to Tytonidae

Tamandua tetradactyla - Southern tamandua
Tamias Striatus - Chipmunk
Tapiridae - Tapirs
Tinamiformes - Tinamous
Tragelaphus oryx - Eland antelope
Tremarctos ornatus - Spectacled bear
Trichechus - Manatees
Trochilidae - Hummingbirds
Tursiops truncatus - Bottlenose dolphin
Tytonidae - Barn owls

Urochordata to Ursus Maritimus

Urochordata - Sea squirt
Uroplatus - Leaf-tailed gecko
Ursus Americanus - American black bear
Ursus Arctos - Brown bear
Ursus Maritimus - Polar bear

Varanus Indicus to Vulpes Vulpes

Varanus Indicus - Monitor lizard
Varanus komodoensis - Komodo dragon
Vespa Mandarinia - Asian giant hornet
Vombatus Ursinus - Wombat
Vulpes vulpes - Red fox

Xenarthra to Xenopus Laevis

Xenarthra - Xenarthrans
Xenopus Laevis - African clawed frog