fauna

American  

[faw-nuh] / ˈfɔ nə /

noun

plural

faunas, faunae

1. the animals of a given region or period considered as a whole.

2. a treatise on the animals of a given region or period.

3. (initial capital letter) Bona Dea.

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fauna British  

/ ˈfɔːnə /

noun

1. all the animal life of a given place or time, esp when distinguished from the plant life (flora)

2. a descriptive list of such animals

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fauna Scientific  

/ fô′nə /

plural

faunas

1. The animals of a particular region or time period.

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fauna Cultural  

1. Animals, especially the animals of a particular place and time.

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Other Word Forms

• faunal adjective
• faunally adverb

Etymology

Origin of fauna

1765–75; < New Latin, special use of Latin Fauna, a feminine counterpart to Faunus; Flora

Example Sentences

But experts who examined that site found 78 fauna and flora species on Norway's "red list" -- species at risk of extinction to varying degrees.

From Barron's

A project is underway to build safe passage for fauna here.

From Los Angeles Times

As she lived in the fear of others, Estrada found solace in the natural flora and fauna of her surroundings.

From Los Angeles Times

Australia, with its vast flora and fauna, is also highly vulnerable.

From Barron's

"These repeated incursions into freshwater at the early divergence stage likely accelerated speciation, and are key factors in explaining the extraordinary hyper-diversity of otophysans in modern freshwater faunas."

From Science Daily