All known life occupies a place in the hierarchical classification system. It is possible to think of this system as an addressing system. There are people (individuals) who are members of a household (a species) which is one of several on a particular street (genus) in a certain town (family). The town is one of several in its county or parrish (order). The county is one of many which form a state (class) which is one of several forming a nation (phyllum). Finally, the various nations cover a planet (kingdom).
It looks like this:
The genus and species names together of a living thing form its scientific name. All scientific names are either Latin or Latinized even when derived from other languages (often Greek) or proper names. The genus name is always capitalized, but the species name is never capitalized even when it is formed from a proper name. The reason for the Latinization is to provide a global standard of identification. The common name "water moccassin" is sometimes applied to several very different water snakes, but the scientific (Latin) name Agkistrodon piscivorous refers to a group of snakes which share a set of characteristics distinct from all other snakes. Some of the classification elements possess sub-elements.
The Everglades Rat Snake provides a good example of scientific name. This snake is known by various common names including "Allen's Rat Snake" and "Everglades Chicken Snake". It's scientific name, Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni, places it in the genus Elaphe and the species obsoleta. Note that the sub-specific name rossalleni is not capitalized even though it is derived from a proper name.
