Adding on the to excellent and accurate info Anthony (who eats Powdermilk
Biscuits and Raw Bits, and Banks at the Sign of the Sock thanks to
Garrison Keillor)
 
Keep  Picking  Cucumbers  Or  Father  Gets  Sore
 
Huh?
 
Well, there are some excellent past posts from Bob Church on multiple
reasons for controversy over species naming of domestic ferrets which
anyone can find in the FML Archives (See each day's digest for the
URL in the header.), so let's look at the usual terminology for Black
Footed Ferrets, European Polecats, and Steepe Polecats:
Keep = Kingdom
Animalia
Picking = Phylum (plural Phyla)
Chordata  (and Subphylum Vertebrata)
Cucumbers = Class
Mammalia
Or = Order
Carnivora
Father = Family (Note that this is capitalized here to differentiate
it from the casual use of the word.)
Mustelidae
Gets = Genus (plural Genera)
Mustela
Sore = Species (plural Species)
Black Footed Ferret = nigripes
European Polcat = putorius
Steepe Polecat = eversmanni
There can be subsets to these categories.
 
Notice that when you use a binomial (two name) that the Genus is
capitalized but the Species is not, also how to abbreviate with the
initial of the Genus: Mustela nigripes = M. nigripes because it is
assumed that anyone who knows the binomial will place which Genus
is under discussion.  Also in Genus Mustela besides those three are
such species as M. macrodon (sea mink), M. vison (American mink),
M. strigidorsa (back-striped weasel), M. nudipes (Malaysian weasel),
M. lutreolina (Indonesian mountain weasel), M. sibirica (Siberian
weasel), M. lutreola (European mink), and at least a half dozen other
species.
 
So, as with those hollow wooden dolls which fit within each other the
most inclusive is the Kingdom, then you work down to greater and greater
divisions with species being the smallest.  The Species fit within their
Genera, the Genera fit within their Families, etc.  all the way up till
you reach Kingdom.  In Family Mustelidae are not only those animals in
Genus Mustela, but also badgers, wolverine, otters, Tayra, stoats,
martins, fishers, grisons, Vormilla (Hope I spelled that right; it's a
fascinating animal, too.), etc.  Let's say that I had wanted to trace the
Tayra (a fascinating animal).  Everything would be the same until Genus
and the binomial would be Eira barbara, a different genus.  You get the
idea.  Just keep remembering those dolls which sequentually within each
other, and remember to: Keep picking cucumbers or father gets sore!
 
That help?
 
-- Sukie (not a vet)
Ferret Health List co-moderator
http://www.smartgroups.com/groups/ferrethealth
FHL Archives fan
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
replacing
http://fhl.sonic-weasel.org
International Ferret Congress advisor
http://www.ferretcongress.org
[Posted in FML issue 5175]