subspecies

Noun

subspecies (plural subspecies)

1. A rank in the classification of organisms, below species.
   • I believe it [the trilobite Calymene blumenbachii] has been divided into several forms, which cannot claim more than the rank of subspecies, as they pass by slight gradations into forms which no author has yet thought it right to separate from the type species.1866, A[ndrew] C[rombie] Ramsay, “Trilobita”, in The Geology of North Wales (Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain and of the Museum of Practical Geology; [III]), London: Printed for Her...
   • Ant taxonomists have decided that anything that's worth separating should be separated at the species level, and have no truck with subspecies at all. Butterfly taxonomists, however, like the triple-barrelled name approach and dote on subspecies. As a result, the numbers of ant species and...2007 March 14, Emma Marris, “The Species and the Specious”, in Nature, number 446, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2024
2. A taxon at that rank, often indicated with trinomial nomenclature (such as Felis silvestris silvestris in zoology and Pinus nigra subsp. salzmannii in botany).
   • But these slight differences will not justify us in considering the West African chiquera as a true species distinct from the Indian true chiquera; it is only a subspecies of the latter true species.1851, [Johann Jakob] Kaup, “Descriptions of Some New Birds in the Museum of the Earl of Derby”, in Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, part XIX, London: Printed for the Society; sold at...
3. A subdivision of a species in other scientific disciplines.
   • Granular Augite. […] This subspecies of augite has been hitherto found principally in primitive rocks at Arendal in Norway, in several of the iron-mines, particularly that named Ulve-Grube.1821, Robert Jameson, Manual of Mineralogy: Containing an Account of Simple Minerals, and also a Description and Arrangement of Mountain Rocks, Edinburgh: Printed for Archibald Constable & Co....