Skip to main content

Species

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Dictionary of Geotourism
  • 6 Accesses

Species is the basic unit of biological classification. The study of species is a historical process, but there is currently no universally agreed definition of living species. The traditional definition of species is the concept of morphological species; a species is a group of individuals with similar forms, and the basic structure is the individual. The prevailing definition is that species are groups of natural populations that can communicate with each other for reproduction and are segregated from other groups reproductively. As such, the basic structure of species is the population rather than the individual, and the concept of a social group is emphasized. In biology, the standard of reproductive segregation of species is only applicable to sexual species but is not applicable to asexual species or fossil species. The classification of asexual and fossil species emphasizes the morphological concept, in which species are judged based on the continuity of their morphological...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

(2020). Species. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_2313

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics