The Special Species Game

Every species has its own unique scientific name that is chosen by the individual or team that discovers it. The name usually reflects something about the species itself.

Carl Linnaeus came up with the 'binomial' naming system, which means two names. Every species is known by two names - we are Homo sapiens (meaning human thinking, or wise).

You can come up with your own Special Species by combining together different Latin or Greek words and imagining what the species would look like and why the species might have developed those features through evolution.

Please note that whilst we do love to see your designs, we are no longer running our Special Species Competition which you may see mention of online on other websites.

Start off with the Basic Generator. Click the button below and you'll generate three words (e.g. spider, red, arm). It's your job to draw this new species!

Once it's drawn, give it a proper scientific name using the latin/greek words. For the example above, the words are: arach, rhodo, brachi. It's good to give it a two-part name. Ours could be 'Arachna rhodobrachi'.

Don't be afraid to add or subtract letters to make the names sound better.

Now you should think deeper about your special species.

• Where does it live?
• What does it eat and what eats it?
• What is its life cycle?
• Why does it have that special characteristic (e.g. a red arm)?