The Glorious Twelfth: Background Reading A Note on Binomial Nomenclature In biology, binomial nomenclature refers to the formal method of naming species. The adoption of this system is due to Linnaeus who described the entire known natural world and gave every species a two part name. As the word "binomial" suggests, the scientific name of a species is formed by the combination of two terms: the genus name and the species descriptor. The genus name and species descriptor may come from any source whatsoever. Often they are Latin words, but they may also come from Ancient Greek, from a place, from a person (preferably a naturalist), a name from a local language, etc. In fact, taxonomists come up with specific descriptors from a variety of sources, including in-jokes and puns. From the Discotheque catalogue 'The Glorious Twelfth: A Field Guide to Species', 2005