What is the Difference Between Nomenclature and Classification

The main difference between nomenclature and classification is that nomenclature involves naming organisms, while classification involves organizing organisms in hierarchical series of groups.

In brief, nomenclature and classification are two important aspects of taxonomy. There is a large variety of living organisms around us, including plants, birds, insects, animals. Both nomenclature and classification help us to identify each of these organisms and group them according to their similarities and differences.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Classification 
     – Definition, Features, Examples
2. What is Nomenclature 
     – Definition, Features, Examples
3. What is the Difference Between Nomenclature and Classification
    – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Classification, Nomenclature, Taxonomy, Scientific Names

What is Classification

In biology, classification is the process by which scientists organize living organisms in hierarchical series of groups and sub-groups in terms of their similarities and dissimilarities. Thus, classification can reveal inter-relationships among different groups of organisms and reveal information about organisms and fossils of other localities, as well. It also makes identification easy, facilitating the study of a wide variety of organisms. Moreover, the branch of biology that deals with classification is known as taxonomy.

Furthermore, in classification, there are seven taxonomic ranks: Kingdom, Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. The following image shows an example of biological classification.

Figure 1: Biological Classification of a Red Fox

Examples of Classification

What is Nomenclature

Nomenclature is the system of forming names. In biology, we use binomial nomenclature. This is the formal system of naming organisms with a name composed of two parts; both these names use Latin grammatical forms. Of the two, the first name indicates the genus of the organism, while the second term indicates the species of the organism. For example, the scientific name of modern humans is Homo sapiens – Homo indicates the genus while sapiens indicates the species.

Figure 2: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

Biologists all over the world follow a uniform set of rules in naming organisms. And, there are two international codes used for this naming protocol: International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), which deals with naming of plants, as well as, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), which deals with naming of animals. These codes ensure that each organism gets a specific name, which is globally identified. Furthermore, most scientific names are usually in Latin; therefore, they are written in Italics. Also, we write the name of the genus with a capital letter and the name of the species with a simple letter. Let’s now look at some more examples of binominal names of organisms.

Orcinus orca – killer whale

Panthera tigris – tiger

Ananas comosus – pineapple

Copsychus saularis – oriental magpie robin

Similarities Between Nomenclature and Classification

• Nomenclature and classification are two vital aspects of taxonomy.
• Carl Linnaeus played an important role in developing both nomenclature and classification.
• Latin terms are used in both nomenclature and classification.

Difference Between Nomenclature and Classification

Definition

Nomenclature is the formal system of naming organisms with a name composed of two parts, both of which that mainly use Latin grammatical forms. Classification, on the other hand, is the process by which scientists organize living organisms in hierarchical series of groups and sub-groups in terms of their similarities and dissimilarities.

Subject

Nomenclature involves naming organisms while classification involves organizing organisms in hierarchical series of groups.

Description

In classification, there are seven taxonomic ranks: Kingdom, Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species, but we use genus and species of an organism in forming its scientific names.

Conclusion

In conclusion, nomenclature and classification are two important aspects of taxonomy. The main difference between nomenclature and classification is that nomenclature involves naming organisms, while classifications involve organizing organisms in hierarchical series of groups.

Reference:

1. “Binomial Nomenclature.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Oct. 2020, Available here.
2. “Biological Classification.” Entomologists’ Glossary – Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES), Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Taxonomic Rank Graph” By Annina Breen – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Panda géant (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) (3)” By Gzen92 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia