Even today, we use Latin or Greek to describe organisms so that taxonomists world-wide can communicate. Linnaeus used two words to name each organism, a genus name and a species name. In his system, called binomial nomenclature or two-word naming, the genus describes the group to which the organism belongs, and the species describes the specific animal. Species vary in a world abounding with an array of life forms. Imagine a world filled with just one species.
Diversification ensures a species-rich world.
Organisms have been divided into a five-kingdom classification system. As scientists discovered new organisms and changed their ideas about what characteristics are important in classifying organisms, the classification system changed. This five-kingdom classification system was suggested by R.H. Whittaker in 1969. Linnaeus used a genus name and a species name to describe each organism. The scientific name for the West Indian manatee is Trichechus manatus .