fauna

Definition

Flora's animal kingdom counterpart—the collective term for all critters in a region. Zoologists and ecologists use this when 'animals' sounds too elementary school. Named after the Roman goddess of animals, it's your go-to word for sounding intellectual about everything from mosquitoes to moose in a given ecosystem.

Example Usage

The nature documentary examined the unique fauna of Madagascar, featuring lemurs that look perpetually surprised by their own existence.

Source: Scientific terminology via Free Dictionary API

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