Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
cetacean species

cetacean species

1 7.2
A sea mammal species like whales, dolphins and porpoises
  • noun
  • /sɪˈteɪʃən ˈspiːʃiz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : especies de cetáceos
  • Many people are fascinated by the intelligence of cetacean species, such as dolphins and whales.

Examples

  • The program also includes sighting surveys of all cetacean species in the region.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Conservation efforts aim to protect endangered cetacean species like the North Atlantic right whale.

  • Researchers study the social behaviors of various cetacean species to understand their communication methods.

Surface Forms

cetacean species singular
cetacean species plural

Morphology

cetacean + species

The phrase is directly compositional: 'cetacean' names a group of marine mammals (whales, dolphins, porpoises) and 'species' denotes a taxonomic group, so together they mean 'species of cetaceans.' This noun-modifier pattern is a regular, cross-linguistic way to form compound noun phrases, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily understand the MWE.

Etymology

Cetacean species comes from the word cetacean, which comes from the old word 'cetus' meaning 'whale', plus species, meaning 'kinds'. So it refers to whale-like sea mammals and today means all kinds of whales, dolphins and porpoises.