spe ‧ cies W2 /ˈspiːʃiːz/ BrE AmE noun ( plural species ) [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: 'appearance, kind' , from specere 'to look (at)' ]
a group of animals or plants whose members are similar and can breed together to produce young animals or plants ⇨ genus :
Seven species of birds of prey have been observed.
pandas and other endangered species (=ones that may soon no longer exist)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + species
▪ endangered (=used about a species of which there are very few still alive, so that it may soon not exist)
The park is a sanctuary for 41 endangered species.
▪ protected
Elephants are a protected species in Indonesia.
▪ rare
The area contains many rare species of plants.
▪ common
Here you will see most of the common species of African wildlife.
▪ extinct (=no longer existing)
About a hundred species are becoming extinct every day.
▪ new (=not known about before, or not existing before )
A new species of spider has been discovered in a field in Cambridgeshire.
▪ native (=having always been in a particular country)
Desert broom is a species native to Arizona.
▪ bird/animal/plant species
You can see many different bird species on the canal.
■ verbs
▪ a species is found somewhere
This species is found only in the Southern Hemisphere.
▪ a species lives somewhere (=used about animals)
Many rainforest species cannot live anywhere else.
▪ a species grows somewhere (=used about plants)
The species grows wild in Europe.