Species

In taxonomy, a species is a group of individual organisms that share fundamental similarities. What sets one species apart from another closely related one are distinct morphological differences — differences of form and structure that let us tell them apart.

Consider the names Mangifera indica (mango), Solanum tuberosum (potato) and Panthera leo (lion). In each, the second word — indica, tuberosum, leo — is the specific epithet, naming the species, while the first word — Mangifera, Solanum, Panthera — is the genus, a higher level of category.

A single genus may contain one or several specific epithets, each naming a different organism, yet all sharing morphological similarities:

• Panthera also includes the specific epithet tigris (tiger). …