fauna
/ˈfɔːnə
/noun (plural faunas) [mass noun]
1The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period: the flora and fauna of Siberia [count noun]: the local Mesozoic rocks and their faunas...
- The sheer variety of marine flora and fauna is enough to floor visitors.
- Even different species of flora and fauna find a place of reverence.
- They both shared a keen interest in the flora and fauna of the region.
1.1 [count noun] A book or other work detailing the animal life of a region.A similar instance can be found in other published faunas.
Derivatives
faunal
/ adjective ...- This Himalayan region abounds in faunal beauty and there are hosts of parks and wildlife sanctuaries in the whole of Sikkim.
- Floral, faunal and human motifs are common objects in the paintings.
- However, faunal change was already well under way.
faunistic
- Using a faunistic rather than the traditional regional method, he considered questions such as ‘What is a fauna?’
- The faunistic associations of these thick successions are virtually unknown.
- Systematic studies have largely been faunistic in nature, with the exception of the revision of the Dichocrinidae.
Origin
Late 18th century: modern Latin application of Fauna, the name of a rural goddess, sister of Faunus.