Variety (biology)

In most usages the terms variety, subspecies and race are interchangeable. See particularly subspecies, which is the technical term.

In the order Crocodylia, for example, the Common Caiman Caiman crocodilus is represented by four varieties, the Bespectacled Caiman Caiman crocodilus crocodilus, the Brown Caiman Caiman crocodilus fuscus, the Rio Apaporis Caiman Caiman crocodilus apaporiensis and the Yacare Caiman Caiman crocodilus yacare. Each of these has a distinct range of habitat and appearance, and different varieties do not normally interbreed in the wild. They are however sufficiently closely related that interbreeding is possible and produces viable, fertile offspring, or hybrids, so are regarded as a single species.

Often the scientific name of a variety will be given with the genus and species names abbreviated, for example C. c. fuscus for the Brown Caiman. See also binomial nomenclature. If the species name is important in the context, then only the genus name will be abbreviated, as in C. crocodilus fuscus.

A domesticated variety of a plant is called a cultivar, while a domesticated variety of an animal is called a breed. A strain is all the descendants of a single significant ancestor, and is sometimes used interchangeably with 'variety' but this is not strictly correct. A strain of animals is also called a bloodline.