Question

What does the first word in the two-word scientific name of a species represent?

Answer 1

The first word in the two-word scientific name of a species represents the genus.

The genus is the first word or first part in the two-word scientific name of a species. A genus is usually the name of a small group of similar or closely related organisms to which an organism belongs. The genus with the specific epithet forms the complete scientific name for an organism. The genus name is usually written first and always starts with a capital letter. An example is the scientific name of ladybug; Harmonia axyridis. Harmonia is the genus, while axyridis is the specific epithet.

Answer 2

The first word in binomial nomenclature is the genus of a species.