KINGDOM

PHYLUM

CLASS

ORDER

FAMILY

GENUS

SPECIES

This can be easily remember by the mnemonic phrase "Kings Play Chess On Funny Green Squares".  There are others, but that is the one I learned.  So, Kingdom is the highest level, and there are two, plant and animal.  We are primarily concerned with the animal kingdom, however algae and such belongs in the plant kingdom.  Any one know which kingdom corals belong in? I am sure you all do, but oddly enough, when asked, most folks say "plant"!  These divisions (phylum, class, order, etc.) are deeper, richer descriptions of the animals.  I will leave that at that, for fear of long-windedness, as I can see I am being already...

When we say we have a Hippocampus reidi, we are stating the genus and species of the animal.  This is very important, because "reidi" alone could refer to any number of other organisms... however, Hippocampus reidi is one specific animal.  The first letter of the genus is always capitalized, and the first letter of the species is never capitalized.  Also, scientific names should always be italicized.

So, what the heck does Hippocampus reidi mean, and how in the world do you say it?  Hippocampus is an ancient Greek word meaning "horse-like (Hippos) sea-monster (kampus)".  "reidi" is the name of the discoverer of the species or some person that the discovered wished to honor!  When you see a species name that ends in "i", more likely than not the word preceeding the "i" is the name of the man who discovered the species or is being honored by the discoverer.  When you see a species name ending in "ae", more likely than not the word preceeding the "ae" is the name of the woman who discovered the species or is being honored by the discovered.  The "i" is always long as in "eye", and the "ae" sounds like "eee". So, Hippocampus reidi is pronounced "HIP-oh-CAMP-us reed-EYE" or "ride-EYE" (not sure of the correct pronunciation of the gentleman's name, but we do know it is a man).

Another would be H. kelloggi.  Notice that once we have stated the genus, it is only necessary to put the initial in subsequent text.  H. kelloggi is pronounced "kel-log-EYE".  It is just like saying the name and then saying "eye" at the end of it.

Now, if the species name ends in "ensis", as in H. capensis, then this usually means that this is the area where the organism was discovered.  H. capensis comes from around the Cape of Good Hope.

Other species names, like "fuscus" or "erectus" are typically Latin or Greek derivations, and denote a key element to the organisms physiognomy (physical appearance).

***WARNING, POTENTIALLY BORING STUFF FOLLOWS***

For those of you interested, here is the complete taxonomy of our beloved seahorses:

Hippocampus is the genus belonging to the family Syngnathidae (which means fused-jaws), which belongs to the order Syngnathiformes (which are pipefish and seahorses and their cousins), which belongs to the class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) which belongs to the phylum Chordata (not necessarily a vertebrate, but an organism possessing a central nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and a post anal tail at some point in their life... humans are Chordates).  Or in order:

KINGDOM:	Animal
PHYLUM:	Chordata
CLASS:	Actinopterygii
ORDER:	Syngnathiformes
FAMILY:	Syngnathidae
GENUS:	Hippocampus
SPECIES:	reidi, erectus, abdominalis, etc.

There are many subdivisions at several of these levels, so if you don't see something you know should be there, don't panic!

Hope this was at least interesting, if not helpful!