faun-, fauni-, fauna-, -fauna +

Any assemblage of animal remains recovered from a single archaeological context.

All the birds present in a region, an area, an environment, or a period of time.

A reference to or relating to birds of a particular region or period.

The fauna of protected or concealed microhabitats.

1. To eliminate animal or protozoan pests or parasites from an infested area or an infected host: "Some countries are making efforts at defaunating single-cell organisms that divide within a host organism; such as, those protozoa that cause malaria."
2. Driving off or depleting animal life in an area: "A process of local or global extinctions of large (vertebrate) animals as a result of human processes; such as by, hunting or the depletion of forests when people over populate such areas."

"Some defaunated areas have been caused by excessive deforestation by humans which threatens global biodiversity in some areas of the world."

"Defaunating is causing extreme ecological changes in some of the world's most biodiverse tropical forests."

"When some areas are overly defaunated, there are impacts resulting from the loss of key pollinators and seed dispersers by the absence of animals that indirectly affects the ecology of the forests."

"The extent of defaunating involves the loss of millions of animals that are killed in the Amazon, in Africa, and in Asia because local populations need to support themselves; either by hunting or selling the meat of the slain animals to markets."

The driving off or depletion of animal life in a geographical area or areas: "Defaunation is considered to be one of the world's most significant global changes, on par with environmental changes like global warming, deforestation, and shifts in the nitrogen cycles."

"Defaunation, or animal impoverishment, is usually missing from the analyses of tropical forest conservation that results from human activities which include deforestation and the loss of the fauna, particularly the medium and large animals that are the most vulnerable, because of hunting or habitat reduction or fragmentation of forests."

1. In ecology, animals that live on the sea floor, or attached to other animals or objects under water.
2. The total animal life inhabiting a sediment surface or water surface; any encrusting fauna.

In Roman mythology, a rural god, often depicted as a creature with the body of a man and the legs and horns of a goat. The Greek equivalent is satyr.

Animals; from the name of a Roman fertility goddess, wife, sister, or daughter of Faunus.

The animals of a country or region at any given period. The term was popularized in the natural sciences after Carolus Linnaeus (originally Carl von Linné), Swedish naturalist and physician, first coined it in his Fauna Suecica, "Swedish Fauna" (1746) which is a companion volume to his Flora Suecica (1745).

By the way, Linnaeus was the founder of modern scientific nomenclature for plants and animals. In his time he had a uniquely influential position in natural history.

Fauna is also known as the goddess Diana who was the mother of wild creatures. She had a satyr-consort, Faunus, corresponding to the androgynous Dianus who merged with Diana. The name of Fauna came to mean "animals" because many-breasted Diana was supposed to give birth to all animals and to nourish them with her numerous breasts, as shown on her famous statue at Ephesus. Another name for Fauna was Bona Dea, the "Good Goddess".

An ancient Italian rural goddess of fruitfulness in Roman mythology, the sister of Faunus.

You may see more information about Fauna at this link.

1. The animal life of a particular region or period, considered as a whole.
2. A catalog or list describing the animals of a particular region or period.
3. The name fauna was introduced into zoology by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (Karl von Linne (1707-78).

A reference to animals or animal life.

A disturbance of the soil surface by animals; especially, by the burrowing and tunneling of gophers, mice, rabbits, etc.

The assemblage of animal species that exist in a particular area.