Apedia

Eurytopic Range Environmental Meaning Species Narrow Found Stenotopic

Word eurytopic
Date February 4, 2013
Type adjective
Syllables yur-ih-TAH-pik
Etymology "Eurytopic" evolved in the 1930s along with "stenotopic," which means "having a narrow range of adaptability to changes in environmental conditions." Both words are rooted in Greek, with "eurys" meaning "broad" or "wide," "stenos" meaning "close" or "narrow," and "topos" meaning "place." Eurytopic species can typically be found in a broad range of places. An example would be the perch, a fish that can be found in ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. By contrast, stenotopic species inhabit a narrow region. Examples include the rare Spoon-billed Sandpiper as well as the plants, animals, and other organisms bearing a specific area-related name, such as the Indiana Bat.
Examples Eurytopic groups are observed in a wide range of habitats.

"Eurytopic species tend to have longer geologic ranges than stenotopic ones because they are more likely to survive environmental disturbances and therefore persist through time." - From Ronald Martin's 2013 book Earth's Evolving Systems
Definition : tolerant of wide variation in one or more environmental factors

Tags: wordoftheday::adjective

Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.

Next card: Flu fluː makes illness bad feel i noun

Previous card: French sangfroid means cold-blooded cold february noun sahng-frwah

Up to card list: Word of the Day