endemic
en-DEM-ik
/enˈdem.ɪk/
Native and strictly restricted to a specific geographic region, occurring nowhere else naturally.
Must naturally exist exclusively in that single area; an introduced animal in a zoo does not change its native endemic status.
The story behind the word. From Greek endēmios ('dwelling in a people or place'), combining en- (in) and dēmos (people or district). Hippocrates used it for diseases constantly present in a specific city. Nineteenth-century naturalists borrowed it to mark plants and animals locked exclusively into a single valley or island.
Word relationships
- geographically restricted: A purely descriptive phrase indicating spatial limits without the formal biological designation.
- cosmopolitan: Distributed broadly across many or all continents and ocean basins worldwide.
Commonly confused with
- indigenous: Indigenous means native to a location, but the species might occur elsewhere too; endemic means native strictly to that single area.
Word family
- endemicity (noun): The condition of being unique to a specific geographical area.
Collocations
- endemic species
- endemic to the region
- endemic flora
- endemic fauna
Example sentences
- "The Galápagos giant tortoise is endemic to the remote volcanic islands of the Galápagos archipelago." Island biogeography study
- "Madagascar is world-famous for its massive concentration of endemic plant species found in no other region." Botanical expedition report
Memory hook
EN-DEMIC = living strictly IN this local DEMOS (district). Unique to one location.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'epidemic' (rapid outbreak of disease) or use to mean broadly 'indigenous' if found in multiple regions.
Fun facts
- Over 80 percent of native Hawaiian plant species are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth.
Related words
Explore more words
indigenous, habitat, scarce, peculiar, exclusivity, biodiverse
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