Fauna
noun /ˈfɔː.nə/ — The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.
Definition
The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period, considered collectively. Always discussed alongside 'flora'. The fauna of a place is the animal component of its life — from insects to mammals.
Beyond the definition
Fauna is the moving, breathing, fleeing, hunting part of the world. Where flora is relatively still and patient, fauna is what watches you from the undergrowth, flies overhead, crosses your path at night.
Origin & history
Latin: 'Fauna' (goddess of fertility, sister of Faunus). Used by Carl Linnaeus in his 'Fauna Svecica' (1746) to mean the animal life of Sweden. The botanical counterpart — 'flora' — was named for the goddess of flowers.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The island's fauna had evolved in isolation for millions of years — fearless of predators that had never arrived.
The survey catalogued the local fauna: forty-seven species of bird, twelve of mammal, hundreds of insects.
The rewilding project aimed to restore the complete fauna of the valley — including apex predators absent for centuries.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Fauna” when the meaning fits your context: The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period, considered collectively. Always discussed alongside 'flora'. The fauna of a place is the animal component of its life — from insects to mammals.
Synonyms
animal life, wildlife, zoology
Antonyms
Related words
Fauna vs flora
Fauna refers to all animal life in a region. Flora refers to all plant life in that same region.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Illustrative example
Group of Lemurs Sitting Close
A group of ring-tailed lemurs sits close together on the grass, forming a collective, social, and calm unit in the sunlit outdoors.
These lemurs constitute the fauna of their region. Considered collectively, they represent the animal component of their habitat, showcasing how fauna exists as a social and interacting part of the broader ecological community, from the smallest insects to the most visible mammals present in the area.
Image credit: Daniel Ramirez from Honolulu, USA · CC BY 2.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; displayed with a fitted crop.
Questions about this word
What does "Fauna" mean?
Fauna is noun meaning: The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.. The animals of a particular region, habitat, or geological period, considered collectively. Always discussed alongside 'flora'. The fauna of a place is the animal component of its life — from insects to mammals.
Where does the word "Fauna" come from?
Latin: 'Fauna' (goddess of fertility, sister of Faunus). Used by Carl Linnaeus in his 'Fauna Svecica' (1746) to mean the animal life of Sweden. The botanical counterpart — 'flora' — was named for the goddess of flowers.