If the specific epithet is written with a capital letter in a scientific name, how should that name be regarded?

Correct answer: It is written incorrectly according to the accepted international convention

Correct answer: A. In a standard binomial scientific name, the genus begins with a capital letter, but the specific epithet begins with a lowercase letter: for example, Homo sapiens, not Homo Sapiens. Therefore, capitalising the specific epithet is a violation of the usual writing convention and should be corrected. The original wording “completely invalid” is too strong in every possible nomenclatural context; a typographical error does not necessarily erase all biological identity or make communication impossible. Still, for school-level questions about correct scientific-name format, option A is the intended answer. B is wrong because the convention is not followed. C is wrong because scientific naming rules are international, not country-specific. D is wrong because the capitalization convention is standardized. Memory cue: “Genus gets the capital; epithet stays small.”