Binomial nomenclature (also called
binominal nomenclature or
binary nomenclature) is a formal system of naming
species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use
Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a
binomial name (which may be shortened to just "binomial"), a
binomen or a
scientific name; more informally it is also called a
Latin name. The first part of the name identifies the
genus to which the species belongs; the second part identifies the species within the genus. For example, humans belong to the genus
Homo and within this genus to the species
Homo sapiens. The
formal introduction of this system of naming species is credited to Swedish natural scientist
Carl Linnaeus, effectively beginning with his work
Species Plantarum in 1753.