Environment / B2

SPEESH-eez/ˈspiːʃiːz/

A species is a group of living things that can breed together; one kind of organism (same form singular and plural): an endangered species. Kind is everyday; breed is narrower. Name the species on the quadrat sheet. Mix-up: special is particular (already in the dictionary); specie is coin in old texts. Do not write “specie” for animals, or treat species as a count with “specie”.

Meaning

A group of animals or plants that can breed together; one kind of living thing.

Examples

• “Name the species on the quadrat sheet, not a vague “bird”.”
• “Invasive species featured in the ecology case study, which is the kind-of-organism sense.”

Good to know

a species of; endangered / invasive species. Everyday: kind. Trap: special / specie. Biology and geography. A living kind; plural usually species.

Topics

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