Dictionary

subspecies en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsʌbspiːʃiːz/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /-siːz/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio
• /-ʃɪz/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- English species English subspecies From sub- + species.

Meanings

1. A rank in the classification of organisms, below species.
   • Ant taxonomists have decided that anything that's worth separating should be separated at the species level, and have no truck with subspecies at all. Butterfly taxonomists, however, like the triple-barrelled name approach and dote on subspecies. As a result, the numbers of ant species and butterfly species are not directly comparable. 2007 March 14, Emma Marris, “The Species and the Specious”, in Nature, number 446, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2024:
   • I believe it [the trilobite Calymene blumenbachii] has been divided into several forms, which cannot claim more than the rank of subspecies, as they pass by slight gradations into forms which no author has yet thought it right to separate from the type species. 1866, A[ndrew] C[rombie] Ramsay, “Trilobita”, in The Geology of North Wales (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and of the Museum of Practical Geology; [III]), London: Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office; published by Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, →OCLC, page 325:
2. A taxon at that rank, often indicated with trinomial nomenclature (such as Felis silvestris silvestris in zoology and Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii in botany).
   • But these slight differences will not justify us in considering the West African chiquera as a true species distinct from the Indian true chiquera; it is only a subspecies of the latter true species. 1851, [Johann Jakob] Kaup, “Descriptions of Some New Birds in the Museum of the Earl of Derby”, in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, part XIX, London: Printed for the Society; sold at their house in Hanover Square, and by Messrs. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, Paternoster Row, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 42:
3. A subdivision of a species in other scientific disciplines.
   • Granular Augite. […] This subspecies of augite has been hitherto found principally in primitive rocks at Arendal in Norway, in several of the iron-mines, particularly that named Ulve-Grube. 1821, Robert Jameson, Manual of Mineralogy: Containing an Account of Simple Minerals, and also a Description and Arrangement of Mountain Rocks, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable & Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson & Co., →OCLC, page 166:

Forms

Deriveds

ecosubspecies · subsubspecies · paleosubspecies · ichnosubspecies · intrasubspecies · nothosubspecies · microsubspecies · subspecific · chronosubspecies · palaeosubspecies · intersubspecies · infrasubspecies

Relateds

variety · subspecific epithet · infraspecific epithet · cultivar · subspecific · quasispecies · subspecific name · strain · infraspecific

Synonyms

subsp. · ssp.

Translations (68)

vi phân loài (rank in the classification of organisms) · bn উপপ্রজাতি (rank in the classification of organisms) · nl ondersoort (rank in the classification of organisms) · vi loài phụ (rank in the classification of organisms) · sco subspecies (rank in the classification of organisms) · nds-de Rooß (rank in the classification of organisms) · ro subspecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · fr sous-espèce (rank in the classification of organisms) · la subspecies (rank in the classification of organisms) · he תת־מין (rank in the classification of organisms) · af subspesie (rank in the classification of organisms) · de Unterart (rank in the classification of organisms) · pl podgatunek (rank in the classification of organisms) · sl podvrsta (rank in the classification of organisms) · jv subspesies (rank in the classification of organisms) · te ఉపజాతి (rank in the classification of organisms) · nan-hbl á-chéng (rank in the classification of organisms) · eo subspecio (rank in the classification of organisms) · el υποείδος (rank in the classification of organisms) · gl subespecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · pt subespécie (rank in the classification of organisms) · br isspesad (rank in the classification of organisms) · ko 아종 (rank in the classification of organisms) · cs poddruh (rank in the classification of organisms) · fa زیرگونه (rank in the classification of organisms) · id upaspesies (rank in the classification of organisms) · fy undersoarte (rank in the classification of organisms) · eu azpiespezie (rank in the classification of organisms) · ja 亜種 (rank in the classification of organisms) · ga fospeiceas (rank in the classification of organisms) · nds-de Ünneroort (rank in the classification of organisms) · nn underart (rank in the classification of organisms) · sah көрүҥ үөдүҥэ (rank in the classification of organisms) · uk підвид (rank in the classification of organisms) · yue 亞種 /亚种 (rank in the classification of organisms) · de Rasse (rank in the classification of organisms) · ru подви́д (rank in the classification of organisms) · ilo subsebbangan (rank in the classification of organisms) · ka ქვესახეობა (rank in the classification of organisms) · hy ենթատեսակ (rank in the classification of organisms) · mt sottospeċi (rank in the classification of organisms) · nb underart (rank in the classification of organisms) · de Subspezies (rank in the classification of organisms) · cy isrywogaeth (rank in the classification of organisms) · nds-de Raaß (rank in the classification of organisms) · tr alt tür (rank in the classification of organisms) · an subespecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · az yarımnöv (rank in the classification of organisms) · lt porūšis (rank in the classification of organisms) · sv underart (rank in the classification of organisms) · ar نُوَيْع (rank in the classification of organisms) · th ชนิดย่อย (rank in the classification of organisms) · et alamliik (rank in the classification of organisms) · mk подвид (rank in the classification of organisms) · tk kiçi görnüş (rank in the classification of organisms) · sk poddruh (rank in the classification of organisms) · es subespecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · fi alalaji (rank in the classification of organisms) · lv pasuga (rank in the classification of organisms) · cmn 亞種 /亚种 (rank in the classification of organisms) · ia subespecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · hu alfaj (rank in the classification of organisms) · da underart (rank in the classification of organisms) · sh pȍdvrsta (rank in the classification of organisms) · ms subspesies (rank in the classification of organisms) · ca subespècie (rank in the classification of organisms) · it sottospecie (rank in the classification of organisms) · ta துணையினம் (rank in the classification of organisms)