⟷ Carolus Linnaeus [ Father of taxonomy ] named plants and animals by using two Latin words. The first word refers to the genus [ generic name ] and the second to the species [ specific name ].
Genus : It is a group of closely related two or more species. The genus canis constitutes the closely related species like cat , dog , jackal and wolf.
Species : It is a group of living beings which can interbreed and reproduce among themselves and keep their population alive.
For example :
Scientific name of pea : <em>Pisum </em><em>sativum</em> [ Here , the first word ' <em>Pisum</em>' refers to genus & the second word ' <em>sativum</em> ' to the species.