biota

American  

[bahy-oh-tuh] / baɪˈoʊ tə /

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. the animals, plants, fungi, etc., of a region or period.

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biota British  

/ baɪˈəʊtə /

noun

1. the plant and animal life of a particular region or period

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biota Scientific  

/ bī-ō′tə /

1. The organisms of a specific region or period considered as a group.

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Etymology

Origin of biota

1900–05; < New Latin , from Greek biotḗ “life”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

biota

This means the fossils -- dubbed the Huayuan biota after the county where they were found -- "open a new window into what happened," he added.

From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026

This time the issue was much simpler — as the authors themselves wrote, “the discovery emphasizes that terrestrial biota can rapidly colonize extraterrestrial specimens even given contamination control precautions.”

From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2024

Understanding the formation and biota of these structures could provide important clues to the origin and ecology of early life on our planet.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 13, 2024

And when emoji biota are limited, the ecologists argue in a new paper, so is the scope of the natural world that we can talk about, advocate for and ultimately protect.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2023

Thus, as in New Guinea, the limitations on indigenous food production in the eastern United States were not due to Native American peoples themselves, but instead depended entirely on the American biota and environment.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond