Panthera tigris is the scientific name of which animal?
- A.Lion
- B.Leopard
- C.Tiger
- D.Cheetah
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, the tiger. Panthera tigris is the tiger, the national animal of India, and the Bengal tiger found in the country is its subspecies Panthera tigris tigris, a three part name that illustrates trinomial nomenclature. Option A is wrong because the lion is Panthera leo, and the Asiatic lion of the Gir forest is its subspecies Panthera leo persica. Option B is wrong because the leopard is Panthera pardus, the third of the big cats of this genus found in India. Option D is wrong because the cheetah is Acinonyx jubatus and belongs to a different genus altogether, which is the reason it is a favourite distractor in this question. All four, however, belong to the cat family. A useful way to hold this group in mind is that the three big cats of India share one genus while the cheetah, which went extinct in the country and has since been brought back from Africa, sits outside it.
Read the full article: Scientific Names of Plants and Animals: GK List
Practice Questions
View allThe system of binomial nomenclature was given by which scientist?
- A.Charles Darwin
- B.Carolus Linnaeus
- C.Gregor Mendel
- D.Robert Hooke
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The Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus introduced the two part naming of organisms in Systema Naturae and applied it to the plant kingdom in Species Plantarum, and because he also built the ranked system of classification he is called the father of taxonomy.
Read the full explanation →What is the scientific name of the mango?
- A.Mangifera indica
- B.Musa paradisiaca
- C.Psidium guajava
- D.Carica papaya
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The mango belongs to the genus Mangifera and the species epithet indica marks its Indian origin; it is also the national fruit of India, which is why this name appears in both science and static general knowledge papers.
Read the full explanation →Oryza sativa is the scientific name of which crop?
- A.Wheat
- B.Rice
- C.Maize
- D.Barley
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Rice is Oryza sativa, a member of the grass family, and the epithet sativa, meaning cultivated or sown, marks it as a crop raised by farmers rather than a wild species.
Read the full explanation →What is the scientific name of the Indian peafowl, the national bird of India?
- A.Pavo cristatus
- B.Columba livia
- C.Passer domesticus
- D.Corvus splendens
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The Indian peafowl, declared the national bird of India, is Pavo cristatus, the epithet cristatus referring to the crest on its head, and it is protected under the Wild Life Protection Act of 1972.
Read the full explanation →In a binomial scientific name, what does the first word denote?
- A.The species
- B.The genus
- C.The family
- D.The kingdom
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In a binomial name the first word is the genus and is written with a capital initial letter, while the second word is the species epithet and is written entirely in small letters; both are italicised in print and underlined separately in handwriting.
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