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

She also wrote about people saving native flora and fauna, from mountain lions in need of a freeway crossing to endangered butterflies and tiny native bees.

From Los Angeles Times

Kruger's fauna -- including the famed Big Five grouping of elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo -- had largely escaped the flooding because animals had sensed the danger and moved to higher lying areas.

From Barron's

"If commercial mining goes ahead then there will be quite widespread impacts," Sweetman said, adding that "these nodules are home to a variety of diverse fauna".

From Barron's

In the morning, the rumble of rock-grinding machines, which crush through buckets of substrate, could be heard before the savannah's fauna began its daily chorus.

From Barron's

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