Why are common names a problem for scientists?

If your asking why things have binomial taxonomy in addition to just being called a frog (for example) i think its so that it can be more specifically identified and it leaves no room for confusion with a similar creature.

Why are common names a problem for scientists?
Common names vary from language to language, from country to country, and even from region to region within a single country. Scientific names are universal, the same in every language, in every country, in every region.
Reply:Common names are no problems for scientists. It's just that scientific names are more problematic for us and more informative and descriptive for the scientists themselves. It's all a matter of filling necessities and making things better where required.


Scientific names for living beings for example give info on species and genus at the same time for scientists
Reply:Common names are different from one country to another, as languages change. Scientific names are universal. So while it seems more difficult to learn scientific names, it's actually easier in the long run!
Reply:They are used to the scientific names?
Reply:because they are too common and there are animals that are crossbred like the whale and dolphin. It's hard to come up with new names for animals all the time.
Reply:Because "common" isn't.


I might say I have a chili coral. This other guy calls the same coral a strawberry coral. And this is one of literally thousands of examples.





So how is a biologist supposed to determine what you are talking about without the scientific name?
Reply:Common names vary not only from country to country and language to language but even from region to region. Skunks are commonly called rooters, pole cats and civet cats in various parts of the US. At the same time, several differnet species may have the same common name. For example, the cotton-tail rabbit is really multiple species.





Scientific names are more than unique identifiers. They also demonstrate relationships and even tell about the animal. For example, Mephitis mephitis, Mephitis macroura, Conepatus mesoleucus, Spilogale gracilis, and Spilogale putorius are all speices of skunks. Just by looking at the genus names, you can tell that some of them are more closely related to each other than to others.





Secondly, scientific names are generally chosen for one of two reasons. They may be named after someone important in the field, although it's extremely tacky to name a species after yourself, or they are named after some identifier such as the area they are located or some kind of descriptive feature. For example, the scientific name of the Cottonmouth is Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma which translates into the white-mouthed, fish-eating viper. Conepatus mesoleucus, the hog-nosed skunk, translates into white-middled horn-head, which is fairly appropriate for a skunk with a long nose and a single solid whie stripe down its back. Taxidia brasiliensis, the Brazilian free-tailed bat, is an example of a species named after a location where it is found.