How many words are in the scientific name for a species using the Linnaeus?

The number of Words in a scientific name varies between organisms, and depends both on how evolved the organism is, and what we know about it. The standard notation for an organism's scientific name is Binomial nomenclature, in which the scientific name is listed as Genus species. However, in some cases, simply listing the genus and species of an organism won't tell you all you need to know about it. Some organisms have relevant subspecies/varieties, and even breeds/subvarieties. In this case, the organism's scientific name is written as Genus species subspecies "Breed."

An example in which this is necessary is in writing the scientific name of a domestic Collie. A collie's Binomial nomenclature is Canis lupus. However, Canis lupus is the name of the Gray wolf; domestic dogs are a subspecies of gray wolves, and each breed is yet a further evolutionary split. Simply listing Canis lupus does not, in this case, tell you all you need to know about a collie. The proper way of scientifically saying "Collie" is: Canis lupus familiaris "Collie," in which the subspecies is familiaris and the breed is written in quotation marks.

The nutshell answer is: usually two, sometimes three or four.