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The scientific name of any species of organism has at least two, sometimes three, parts.
We will use dogs as an example.
Whenever you use the scientific name of a species, you need to follow some formatting
conventions.
First, the name must be italicized.Then, it must be written in the correct order.
We start with the genus, in this case, Canis.
The genus name is capitalized.
Then we list the species name, lupus.
This word is not capitalized.
If the animal is a subspecies, there will be a third word.
This is the specific epithet which lets you know this animal has a slight distinction
from the rest of its species.
Dogs are widely considered to be a subspecies of wolves (although, as with everything in
taxonomy, there is debate around this classification).
So when we put the whole name together, we have Canis lupus familiaris!
What about our kitties?
So, for cats, we're going to start with the Genus, which in this case would be Felis.
Next, would be the species name, silvestris.
And the specific epithet, or subspecies, catus.
So when we put it all together, we have: Felis silvestris catus.
Each companion animal species has its own taxonomic classifications as well as a specific
domestication story.
Guinea pigs descend from either Brazilian guinea pigs or Montane guinea pigs (or possibly
both).
They were originally bred for meat.
They are still consumed regularly in parts of South America where they were originally
domesticated 5-7,000 years ago.
As you can see, domesticated guinea pigs are considered different enough from their ancestors
to be considered their own species.
Rabbits are believed to have first been domesticated in monasteries as a food source.
They were decreed a form of fish.
So, people were allowed to eat them during Lent.
Therefore, monks kept them around in monasteries so that they could have some non-fish fish
to have during Lent.
While they have become more popular as pets, you can still buy rabbit meat and fur here
in the U.S. Rabbits were domesticated a mere 1,500 years ago, and the domestic rabbit is
not even considered its own subspecies.
It still shares the same species name as its progenitor.
While domestication was a unique, nuanced process for each species involved, two generalizations
can be made about how the process was started.
Human-mediated domestication theory is the theory of domestication where animals were
selected by humans to be more docile and useful.
Self domestication is the theory of domestication where animals took charge of the domestication
process, with the animals who could exist near people being the ones most likely to
reproduce.
Both versions likely played a role for each domesticated species to some degree, but most
animals are thought to have begun the domestication process themselves.
Humans then began mediating the later stages of domestication by actively selecting individuals
to breed together.
So since animals are so beneficial to us, then why have relatively few species been
domesticated?
Well, domestication is a long, drawn out process, requiring humans and animals to be in close
proximity for long periods of time before animals truly become domesticated.
Therefore, wild animal species possessing traits conducive to being kept in captivity
are much easier to domesticate.
Species which live in large, stable groups with flexible social hierarchies are generally
easier to keep in captivity because they would have stuck close to their family group.
They feel comfortable being in very close proximity to their herd at all times, so they
can be kept in pens together.
Humans would also be able to infiltrate the social hierarchy and seen as one of the group.Short
generation times are in relation to the human lifespan.
Animals that reach maturity quickly can be produced faster, and it is easier to keep
track of their breeding.
Animals like elephants, which can take up to 15 years to reach maturity, mean people
could not easily breed a lot of them in their own lifetime.
A calm disposition was critical.
Along with being incredibly adept at escaping, gazelle and antelope will panic easily.
Even if they could not manage to jump out of their enclosure, they could run headlong
into a fence.
Their flighty nature made it difficult for people to hang onto them for any amount of
time.Being a fussy eater makes an animal much harder to domesticate.
In order for animals to become domesticated, their food has to be easy enough for the average
person to find.
If you can think of a panda, you're not going to be able to find bamboo nearly anywhere
all over the world like you would be able to find grass for a cow.They must mate readily
in captivity.
Egyptians attempted to domesticate cheetahs as hunting partners, but they failed because
the cheetah cannot breed in captivity.
Their elaborate mating ritual requires the male to chase the female for days over great
distances before she will allow him to mate.
This ensures that she has a prime physical specimen as a mate, but it also ensures they
are impossible to domesticate.
And until now, the animal had to be useful.
Leisure time and excess income is fairly new to humans, and until now, only the richest
people could afford pets purely for leisure.
So if an animal could not provide food or labor, there was little point in people having
them around.
Most animals were domesticated as sources of food.
Both dogs and cats are unique among our domesticated animals in that they are descended from predatory
species.
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