Error in Scientific Names on New Generation Banknotes

Aside from tourist spots, the reverse side of the New Generation Banknotes feature also feature endemic and notable animals such as the tarsier (P200) and the whale shark (P1000). Along with their common English name, the animals are also labeled by their scientific name. Unfortunately, the scientific names are wrongly written!

Scientific names are written in binomial nomenclature where the first word is the genus name whose first letter should be capitalized. The second word is the species name which should be all lower-case letters. In the case of our new banknotes, both the genus and scientific names are written with their first letters capitalized. What's more, scientific names should be italicized and they are not.

Wrong:
Rhincodon Typus

Correct:
Rhincodon typus
The BSP should correct these mistakes or our science students would be seriously mis-educated about binomial nomenclature.

Scientific names were also ALL-CAPS in the Flora and Fauna and Improved Flora and Fauna Series of coins but this recent mistake in the still-to-be-released-banknotes are much more obvious.

Others have also previously complained about geographic errors in the new bills wherein the dot showing the location of Tubbattaha Reef in the 1000-piso bill is about 300 km off the mark.

23 comments:

  1. what?? i can't see any error.. only the font style (italic) atleast hnd wrong spelling! nkakahiya!

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  2. Please note the capitalization of the second word (species). Also, italicization is very important for scientific names. Having wrong nomenclature on national currency is a very bad example.

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  3. Stokely3:49 PM

    Dun poh sa 20php bill dapat ba “malacañan palace” or “malacañang palace”?

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  4. Anonymous12:07 PM

    sobra naman kayo.. pag nasa classroom naman eh hindi naman pera ang example ng mga prof ah! diyos ko.. antoxic nyong mga tao..

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  5. @stokely dapat po when it's the Filipino way to say it, it should be Malakanyang, in the Spanish way, it's Malacañan. No such thing as Malacañang. It's a common misconception

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  6. Anonymous8:52 PM

    ah OC naman masyado ...
    Sabagay madaming magagaling sa Pinoy -- Magaling magpuna pero hinde naman gumagawa ...

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  7. Anonymous2:46 PM

    MAGANDA ANG BAGONG PERA NATIN... MGA PINOY TALAGA MAYSADONG MATALINO. WALA NAMANG PROBLEMA SA BAGONG PERA NATIN. GUSTO LANG MAGPASIKAT NANG IBA. ASTIG NG BAGONG PERA EH... WALANG ERROR.. SIMPLE LANG BUHAY NATIN. TAPOS SIMPLENG BAGAY PINAHIHIRAPAN.

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  8. Anonymous8:58 PM

    as a numismatist, Our new generation banknotes were "masterpieces"...

    Even world's masterpieces have "errors" and mysteries behind like our new banknotes as other people say... like da Vinci's "La Gioconda" (Mona Lisa) error in her smile; Beethoven's "Fur elise" has a chromatical error; The leaning tower of Pisa has a foundation error;
    the link below (somewhat funny) shows mistakes of famous arts, (http://www.cracked.com/article_18700_7-famous-works-art-with-bizarre-mistakes-you-cant-unsee.html) . . . and many more.

    Like them, our banknotes are also a piece of masterpiece...

    ^_^

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  9. Anonymous8:56 PM

    Kung my like button lang ung previous post i-lala-like ko... ^_^

    Share ko lng.. I was one of those na pumupuna sa mga errors na yan.. Then some1 told me, "pera yan!" Then it hit me! UU nga nmn. Cguro kung actual pictures yan, dapat accurate s kulay. Cguro kung map yan, dapat accurate s drawings. For me.. "It's perfectly IMPERFECT!" Cheers!

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  10. Anonymous9:30 PM

    Hindi ito isang maliit na bagay. Writing scientific names has a UNIVERSAL format. Naiintindihan ito ng isang scientist mula sa kahit anong bansa. And it's been used for over a HUNDRED YEARS. The family name is capitalized, to denote that it is the family name, and the species name should start with a small letter (to distinguish between the two). The money print should be corrected. Hindi lang ito a matter of spelling. Number 1, It is wrong science, at Number 2, nakakahiya sa international community

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  11. Anonymous3:04 PM

    one more thing . mali middle initial ni Pnoy , dapat Benigno C. Aquino . . pero eto nakalagay Benigno S. Aquino

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  12. Anonymous10:16 PM

    naitanong ko n din yang middle initial. hindi daw middle initial yun. second name initial. sa ibang mga bansa daw ganyan din ang ginagawa nila kapag dalawa ang name .

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  13. Anonymous3:22 PM

    ganun ba? so ano meaning ng letrang "S"?

    ...hmm, totoo po ba na may bumili ng new 20 peso bill? P20 = P50 daw... totoo po ba to?

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  14. Anonymous8:37 AM

    puro kayo kalokohan mga sira ulo. pati pera pnpkelaman nyo, ayusin nyo problema ng buhay nyo imbis na mga yan pnproblema nyo. may mapuna lang pupunahin nyo. mga baliw.

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  15. Filipinosaurus4:52 PM

    Ugh. As a biologist, kakahiya talaga. -____-

    Italicize the genus but NOT the species. The scientific names themselves should always be rendered different from normal text.

    When used with normal text, it should always be italicized, no exceptions. In manuscripts, okay lang na underline-an mo lang, pero printed... kailangan talagang i-italicize.

    Di to kaartehan lang. Stricto talaga scientific nomenclature. Ang mga taong nagkakamali dito usually journalists, eh ito... gobyerno. Ugh na ugh.

    Sa ibang tao dyan, sure, accept lang ninyo na okay lang yan kasi di siguro nyo alam kung gaano kaimportante to. Suguro tinulogan nyo lang mga bio classes nyo.

    Sure, typography lang yan, pero sa maniwala't kayo sa hindi. Big deal talaga. Kahit na sinong scientist na makakita nyan matatawa.

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  16. Filipinosaurus4:54 PM

    Er... 'capitalize [the initial letter of] the genus but NOT the species'. Yun, sa kakainis ko nagkamali ako, haha. Pero at least nanotice ko agad.

    Sino ba in-charge design nyan? Web-designer na pinulot sa Quiapo?

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  17. Anonymous1:59 PM

    S means Simeon this is his second name.

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  18. Hi guys! Just want to share my insight on these errors. Early on, I was one of those who criticize our money for its errors. But a friend of mine once said, "Its not a science book, to be so accurate with those scientific names. Its not a map, to be so precise to have 7107 islands. Its not a photograph to be so accurate down to the very color. These are very different things. Remember its a paper money." Then I smiled and realized his point.

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    http://www.facebook.com/PinoyNumismatistNetwork

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  19. For me, its a masterpiece as it is. Hats off to the team who worked on our new gen banknotes. awesome! Still looking forward for out new coins…


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    https://www.facebook.com/PinoyNumismatistNetwork

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  20. Antagal na naming sinend yang correction na yan sa BSP, student palang kami sa college...hahaha...pati yung mismong rules ng binomial nomenclature sinend namin...estudyante kami sa CLSU, mga bsbio kaya meticulous kame pagdating sa mga rules na ganyan,


    ...ano bang pumasok sa isip nila, bat sila nag print ng mga erroneous notes...hahaha...weirdo talaga tayong mga pinoy...

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