How do you tell a species of Animal from variety? 
Variation is where individual animals will differ according to their traits and slightly how they look e.g. think of zebras - each zebra will have different patterns of stripes and where each specific stripe is located (somewhat like a bar code), but all of them have the same features: a mane, black and white stripes, the same horse-like skeleton. They will still be the same species.
Species are generally defined by populations which can't interbreed any more, because they are just that different, although this rule has plenty of exceptions. In most cases, they have striking differences in how they appear, usually with very different colours, patterns or skeletal structures. Try thinking of a leopard vs. a lion. While they are both in the
Felidae (big cat) family, a leopard has spots while a lion has a mane, so they definitely look different. They also don't often interbreed, so they must be different species.
Biologists argue all the time whether certain animals should be classed as a different species or a different variant of each other. It's actually a grey area, so you're right to be confused. Animals like ligers (lion and tiger hybrids) and dogs (a Chihuahua is still considered the same species as a Great Dane) make this even harder to properly define. The only real consensus is that a species can't reproduce with another, even if they're in the same family through taxonomy. Hopefully that helps.
Home
Help
Search
Login
